


Restart the Apocalypse

by AshWinterGray



Series: Survivors (DCU) [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCeased (DC Comics), Justice League - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Apocalypse, F/M, Past Character Death, Poison Ivy's Jungle, Post-Apocalypse, Pre-Apocalypse, So I won't tag them all, Themyscira (DCU), There are too many characters to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26056471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: In the DCeased comics, it was stated that Darkseid did something to the Anti-Life equation that altered it. Rather than complete it's true purpose, it created an army of undead. This intrigued me.When Darkseid launched the Anti-Life equation from Cyborg, he did not alter the equation, and Apokolips fell to it's power. Humans, however, proved to be resilient and they survived for five years before they finally managed to stop the Anti-Life equation.This is not that story. This is the story of the survivors...and the matter of time being reset to the exact day where everything went wrong.
Relationships: Jason Todd/Rose Wilson, Lucy Quinzel/Damian Wayne
Series: Survivors (DCU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891540
Comments: 26
Kudos: 78
Collections: DC Worldbuilding





	1. The End...And Then The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [the superhero game](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25260892) by [Nyame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyame/pseuds/Nyame). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the end of the apocalypses, time is reset. The survivors awake in their old bodies on the day that everything went wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell, this was inspired by DCeased and a comment at the beginning of the first comic. Originally, I was going to write out the entirety of those five years, but then I was like...nah.
> 
> So this is what you're getting instead!

“I can’t see a future.”

Jason Todd took in a slow breath before releasing it just as slowly. Beautiful, wonderful, amazing Rose Wilson could see glimpses of the future. It had saved their lives so many times before. Many would credit her gift to the reason most of them were even still alive. They had lost so many. Far too many. Many couldn’t even be buried.

“But we used the cure.”

“I know. But this is the end. Maybe just for me. Maybe for all of us. But I can’t see the future. It’s just…gone.”

The anti-life equation had struck hard and fast. First, it had attacked the phones and internet. Anyone who looked at their phone, or any screen, had dropped dead. Batman had saved as many lives as he could, at the cost of his own. From there, they had done everything in their power to save lives. At least, those that remained. But the anti-life equation was not deterred.

When the internet was no longer an option, it took to other methods. It poisoned the water. Found ways to create natural phenomenon. Caused new illnesses. Through it all, humans worked to fight it. To survive.

They had lost so many. Too many. When they found the cure six weeks ago, it was a blessing in disguise. They had been at peace, rebuilding a home on Themyscira under the rule of Queen Diana Prince.

It had been five long years. They lost so many. And here they were. Together. Survivors.

“We need to tell the others,” Jason whispered, pulling Rose to his side. “If there is a chance we can prepare, then we should.”

“We don’t have enough time.”

No. He supposed they didn’t.

He cupped her chin, turning her face to look at him. He could feel it now. Something building on the horizon. He was sure others could feel it too. He knew he should fight. Knew he should want to survive. He’d lasted this long. But…

But it had been five long years.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you,” was the barely audible response as Jason kissed her. Passionately.

If this was the last time he was ever going to see her again. Hold her again. He was going to make it worth it.

In the distance, deeper into Themyscira, people were beginning to panic. But it was too late. Rose couldn’t see a future. Whatever was coming, Rose hadn’t seen it coming. There was no time to prepare. And for once since all of this started, Jason was done fighting.

Honestly, Jason just wanted to see his dad again. His brothers too. He knew his younger siblings felt the same, Cass too. Even Steph. They had lived too long while their family suffered. They wanted to go home.

It was as they were pulling back for air that whatever was coming hit. It was bright. And then…nothing.

But then it wasn’t nothing. Jason found himself unexpectedly on his feet, staggering back and slamming into some people behind him. Of course, they snapped at him, and Jason gave a stupidly hasty apology as he jerked away and ducked into an alley. It had only been for a second, but he knew where he was with just that glimpse. The lost smell he thought he had forgotten hitting his nose confirmed it.

He was back in Gotham.

But how was that possible? Gotham had been destroyed. It was deemed unsafe to live in. Taking a breath, Jason shut his eyes.

_Pull yourself together. You’re Batman now. You’ve been Batman for three years. You can do this, Jason. Just deep breaths. Go out there and figure out what’s going on._

Jason did. And what he saw made him want to vomit.

**Wayne Enterprise to Fund New Orphanage in Park Row Dedicated to Son, Jason Todd**

**By: Vicki Vale**

Jason knew this article. He knew it like the back of his hand because it was after Jason had seen this article that everything went wrong. He used to keep the clipping in his pocket as a reminder. After all, the last thing he said to Bruce were words of hatred. Fury. They seemed so pointless as time went on.

Jason dashed to where he stashed his motorcycle, taking off without a care to the world. He was, however, Batman, and he knew to keep alert at all times. He didn’t need to get pulled over by the police. Nor did he need to cause a car accident. What felt like hours, but later revealed to be sooner than Jason could have hoped for, Jason stumbled into the cave, tripping off his bike and running towards the chair at the computer.

_Please don’t let this be a dream._

The chair turned, and Jason nearly tripped over himself as he saw the figure frowning at him. Maybe even a glare. But Jason didn’t care. Couldn’t care.

“Jason-uhn!”

Jason tackled Bruce, curling around his father. This was real. It had to be. Jason wasn’t sure what he would do if this was fake.

“Jason? What-?”

“You’re alive,” Jason wheezed through the sobs. “You’re alive.”

“Jay-lad?”

Jason sobbed harder at the nickname. How often he wished to hear it over the last five years? How much he missed it? If this was a dream, Jason was okay with never waking up. Ever.

There was a wail from upstairs. A familiar, though far younger, sounding wail.

Jason jumped up, still gripping onto Bruce as the older man jumped up too. Both were running up the stairs, Jason reluctantly letting go of Bruce so the other could move more effectively. The sight that greeted Jason was Damian Wayne ugly sobbing into the stunned chest of Timothy Drake.

Jason collapsed to his knees, startling everyone.

“Timmy,” he breathed, forcing himself to stand and reach for his brother.

Tim seemed unsure as Jason crushed both Tim and Damian into a hug.

“Guys?”

“Shut up,” Jason sobbed. “Just…shut up. Let us have this. You have no idea-”

The doors were thrown open, revealing a frantic look Stephanie Brown, and a trembling Cassandra Cain. The two girls lunged at Bruce, both breaking down in sobs, much to the man’s horror and shock. Jason wasted no time in pulling Tim and Damian into the group hug with Bruce and the girls. They only cried harder when Alfred entered the room, Cass forcing the butler to join them. And Duke. Poor kid tried to run, not realizing his efforts were pointless as Steph snagged his shirt and tugged him towards them.

There were people they need to find. If this many Bats remembered what happened, then there were others too. But that could wait.

For now.

“Batman,” Bruce managed to extract himself from the group to answer his comm. “WHAT?!”

Jason, Damian, Cass, and Steph stiffened.

“I’ll be there soon,” Bruce hissed, removing his hand from his com. “Damian-”

“I’m going with you.”

“No.”

“I’m not having this argument,” Damian stated smoothly, with an air of maturity that made even Bruce do a double take. “You can’t beat Darkseid with just the Justice League.”

“Damian, wait,” Jason put a hand on the younger’s shoulder. When was the last time Damian was this small? It had been so long. “Bruce is right. You need to stay back.”

“JASON-!”

“You need to find, Lucy.”

At this, Damian faltered. His eyes went wide in realization as he bit his lip and nodded.

“Steph,” Jason turned to the girls who had been at his side. “Find Ivy. Contact anyone you can and tell them to get to the jungle. Cass and I are going with Bruce.”

“No.”

“You don’t get a say in this Bruce,” Jason whipped around to the other. “I don’t know how or why, but the four of us have just come from a future where you _lost._ There were less than 400 people still alive. We have no idea who else came back, and I am not willing to risk reliving through all of that again. So we’re going. End of discussion.”

Bruce eyed his son, looking for the lie. But even he could see that there was something different. Something off.

“Damian,” Jason began again. “I want you to call Jon. See if he remembers. If not, get him to help you locate Lucy anyways. She’s the only one who figured out the anti-life equation, and we’ll need her most. Steph, take Tim and locate Ivy. Then use that brain of yours to remember who was with us on Themyscira and try to contact everyone. Cass, suit up.”

Jason turned to Bruce, daring the man to combat his order. But there wasn’t time for that, and the three made their way down to the batcave. They had a disaster to prevent.

But by the time they got there, Diana was already wailing on Darkseid like the world depended on it. Jason Prince, her twin, and Nubia, her sister, were also wailing on Darkseid like no tomorrow. Dinah Lance joined the action just seconds before Jason and Cass prepared to take to the Wonders’ side. And then, in a shocking turn of events, Captain Marvel and the entire Shazam family joined them in an all-out blood bath.

Despite the fact that Jason wanted nothing more than to hug his older brother and sob himself unconscious, Jason ignored that in favor of protecting a greater cost. Being Batman had its burdens, but Jason had no problem protecting Cyborg if it meant he could have another day with his family. He needed to find Rose. And Attie. Was Selena okay? Lois?

“Glad to have you back, Batman,” Cyborg teased, but his voice was full of relief. “No guns?”

“I couldn’t bring myself to pick one up,” Jason confessed, the All-Blades singing in his hands. “It’s been too long.”

“Tell me about it.”

Darkseid had taken everything from them. There was no way they were going to let history repeat itself. Not again.

Three angry Amazons. One vengeful Canary. Five superpowered wizards. Of course, add two protective Bats. Two mourning speedsters. Three furious archers. Five ring powered lanterns. One cold Atlantean. And not to mention a few Titans.

Darkseid and his lackeys never stood a chance. That day, Darkseid did not die, but he learned to fear. They did not have the proper weapon to kill Darkseid, for one such as Darkseid could be considered a god, but that did not stop the heroes of Earth from making sure Darkseid suffered. The message was clear.

Earth was not to be touched.

\-------------------------------------

Steph bounded over the roofs of Gotham, clad in her Spoiler outfit, in broad daylight. Red Robin and Signal were close behind, and Steph occasionally glanced back to see them. People on the streets marveled at the sight of two vigilantes in broad daylight, but Steph could care less. The Birds of Prey were in motion, all on their way to Poison Ivy’s jungle where it had grown in the matter of minutes.

Steph landed on the rooftop, just feet away from jungle. Red Robin and Signal behind her, and the Birds close by. Steph glanced down, taking in the sight. She had been listening to the police report. Commissioner Gordon had entered the jungle just an hour before and had yet to come out. Supposedly, a few civilians had done the same.

“Spoiler?” Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, called to her. “What’s going on?”

Steph didn’t dare turn around, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hold back if she saw them all again.

Steph reached for the green, let it feel her presence. As one Ivy considered friend. The group of Bats and Birds gasped as the jungle parted, creating an entrance for them to see. It was a clear welcome, but Steph bit her lip.

“Can they come too?”

In response, the entrance became a little wider. With a motion of her head, Steph climbed in first, reluctantly followed by the Bats and Birds. The moment Steph hit the jungle floor, two little blurs tackled her to the ground. Two familiar little blurs.

“Carrie! Nell!”

Steph barely got the names out before she was reduced to tears once more. She had raised these little girls. Seen them grow and become strong women. They were both a year younger than Damian at the age of twelve, and they had been with Steph and the others since the beginning. Had been with all of them since the beginning. For them to be hear.

“You remember,” Steph sobbed. “My sweet girls, you remember. I’m so sorry.”

It was all too much. They didn’t deserve this burden. None of them did.

“Kid…”

Steph let Commissioner Gordon pull her into a hug. Like Carrie and Nell, Jim had been with them since the beginning. He was Carrie and Nell’s “dad”. One of the many that had helped them raise these children.

“As touching as this is,” Pam, Steph had earned the right to call her Auntie Pam, approached them. “We do need to discuss what we do next. I trust Batman gave instructions?”

Steph pushed herself up, putting the two girls down, and steeling herself. She had to be Nightwing, now. Not Spoiler. Not Stephanie Brown. Nightwing. She had earned that title, after all.

“He wants us to get in touch with everyone we can remember who lived with us on Themyscira. We need to figure out who remembers and who doesn’t. Renegade has already contact Superlad, and they are going to retrieve Hood. Batman and Batwoman are assisting the fight against Darkseid.”

“What the heck?” Batwoman, Kate, breathed.

Auntie Pam ignored her. “Good. We’ve gathered radios and comms, already. Jason Blood was the first to arrive, and he has already begun the protection spells just in case. Zatanna and Constantine are on their way, though Fate has gone to aid in the Battle against Darkseid. The green assures me that Swamp Thing is remaining dormant for now.”

Steph nodded. “I’ve got a mental list. I suggest we try sending out a broadcast like we did the first time. People will know to listen to it if they remembered.”

Auntie Pam seemed to agree, leading Steph over to where they were setting up several radios. Sitting down, Steph began to adjust the range as she had learned to do over the years. And then she called out for her lost friends. People scattered all over the world forced to remember a future that was being re-written.

“This is Nightwing calling to the survivors of Themyscira. To those who remember the loss of those five years, we call you to Gotham. Poison Ivy’s Jungle has been restored. The heroes of Earth are once more engaging Darkseid in an effort to prevent the future we lived through from occurring once more. We beg of you to take care of each other. Search for the friends you made, and if it is within your power, come to the Jungle. We will do everything in our power to prevent this future. But as you all remember; we can’t do it alone. For those of you confused, seek shelter. Avoid your phones and anything to do with the internet. If we fail…the apocalypse is coming.”

Steph began to repeat her message, and before she knew it, Carrie and Nell were joining her in the broadcast. Others who had been in Gotham took to other radios and different stations. They had to save lives. They had too.

\---------------------------

_“…within your power, come to the Jungle. We will do everything in our power to prevent this future. But as you all remember; we can’t do it alone. For those of you confused, seek shelter…”_

Lucy Quinzel clicked off the radio, glancing to her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. It was by sheer dumb luck that her Uncle had been trying to show them how to work a ham radio when the broadcast came on. Lucy still remembered this day like the back of her hand. It was the day everything went so wrong. In a few hours, they would still be fiddling with the radio when her aunt, Delilah Quinzel, would drop dead while watching TV. Her uncle and cousin would survive long enough to bring her to Gotham in Poison Ivy’s jungle. But her uncle would be taken by one of the natural phenomenons in an effort to move locations. And her cousin would take terrifyingly ill.

“We have to go to the Jungle,” Lucy declared, back straight, expression serious and far older than it should be for her ten year old body. “Now.”

“Lucy, sweetheart,” her aunt tried.

“I watched you die,” Lucy snapped her head towards her aunt. “I watched you die, Aunt Delilah. You died, in front of me, and I remember it. I watched you all die.”

“Lucy, what are you-”

“You should listen to her.”

Lucy and her family whipped around to see Robin and Superboy standing in the hallway. To her family, Robin probably looked stiff. But to Lucy…this was her Bat. She could see the relief radiating off of him. Lucy launched herself into his arms, much to the surprise of her family.

“Dami?” she whispered.

“I’m here, Red,” he promised. “Steph is looking for Auntie Pam right now.”

“She just sent out a broadcast. Do you think-?”

“I don’t know,” Damian admitted. “I haven’t heard from Attie, either. We’re not sure how this works, but we need to go. Okay? You’re the only one to have figured out the anti-life equation.”

Lucy tightened her grip on Damian’s arm. Right. She needed to be Red Hood right now, just like Damian was clearly channeling his inner Renegade and Jon was negotiating with her aunt and uncle as Superlad.

“Take me to him,” Lucy steeled herself. “Let me avert this crisis.”

Robin nodded, motioning to Jon. With her aunt and uncle ushering her cousin into the car, Jon took them both into the air. To think, six years ago, Lucy had stumbled upon the cure for the anti-life equation. Now she would need to do it again.

The sight before them was horrifying and sickeningly satisfying all at once. So many heroes out for blood. Lucy was glad to remember that Darkseid had been killed by the very equation he tried to implement, and that there was no chance he remembered.

“Batman!” Lucy jumped from Jon’s arms and raced towards where Jason and Cass were protecting Cyborg. “Move!”

With Jon and Damian joining the older two Bats, Lucy began her work. If she was lucky, she could manipulate the cure of the anti-life equation into whipping out the anti-life equation itself. But she’d have to be careful. Extra careful. One wrong move and she would be the cause of the anti-life equation. It was a risk, but Lucy drowned out the world around her in favor of solely focusing herself on the task at hand.

She had to do this. For the future. For the sake of everyone. For her family.

\--------------------------

“I’m surprised, you rarely reset the timeline, yourself.”

“S’aru. Certainly one thing I didn’t miss.”

S’aru only laughed. “Tell me, oh great Anti-Monitor. What led you to do such a surprising act and reset the timeline yourself?”

The Anti-Monitor mumbled something under his breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I was bored.”

This made S’aru pause. Of all the possibilities that he had come up with, this was not one of them.

“You were…bored?”

“Earth is very interesting,” the Anti-Monitor defended. “It’s so diverse and full of idiots. They figure out more than most of the universe even if they have no idea how to properly use what they learn. It got boring just watching them survive. It was strikingly better than the destruction of Krypton, but it got boring after a while. And I knew it would be another couple decades before Earth would repopulate, and by that point, I would just be watching the same things happen all over again.”

“Isn’t that…what normally happens?”

The anti-monitor huffed. “Earth is interesting. They react differently than most planets. Krypton was almost complacent when Brainiac destroyed them, but humans are just so different. Like, that Jason character.”

“Which one?”

“Todd. The one you like to mess with. He was the last person I ever would have seen as Batman. But did you _see_ that kid? Not only did he become Batman, but he did it _better._ Never saw that coming, and I travel through time.”

“So you…restarted the universe…because your favorite movie was about to end…and you didn’t want some stupid sequel…?”

“When you put it like that-”

S’aru was absolutely done with this situation. Of all the people who could abuse their power, S’aru had never expected this. And he was the King of Misusing his powers. He was just done. Maybe Ducra would get a kick out of all this. He doubted it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this book.


	2. Memories of the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkseid is down, but nothing is over.

Three hours after the battle had ended, seven hours in total, Lucy let out a wet laugh of triumph and relief as she watched the anti-life equation delete itself. After waiting a good twenty minutes to assure that she had done her job properly, she brought the cure forward so that it was easily accessible, but harder to delete. Then she broke down in tears. Batman, her Batman, not Bruce Wayne, wrapped his arms around her and whispered promises she knew to be true.

They were all exhausted after a hard fought battle. But none of them could quite let go of the adrenaline rush just yet. Not even with the equation destroyed from Cyborg’s coding. They all knew the equation would never truly be gone. It had simply moved to a different Father Box. It was one of those universal constants that could never truly go away. But it bought them time. Time they hadn’t had before.

“Would some please explain what’s going on?” Barry begged, holding two grossly weeping speedsters in his arms. Wallace West and Jesse Chambers were not letting go anytime soon.

“Not here,” Cass spoke up. “We need to go to the Jungle. Safer there. Explain to everyone.”

Damian had taken Lucy from Jason so the older could once more become ‘Batman’ before their eyes.

“We will explain everything in the safety of Pam’s Jungle. I swear, but there is too much to explain for us to do it more than once. Spoiler will already have sent out a broadcast to those like us, and both Miss Martian and Omen have called the other heroes to the Jungle too.”

The stance and tone Jason took was so _Batman_ it made those not aware of the situation jolt. Bruce, who had gotten a hasty explanation, watched his son in agony. This was not a future he ever wished for any of his children.

“Marvels,” Jason turned to them first. “Hit Fawcett City first, but head to Blüdhaven next. Enough of our kids survived that they would remember. Wonders, go to Europe. Find any of our friends you can. Take the Supers with you. Canary, you and the Arrows spread out and do a sweep of the U.S. and take the speedsters with you. Titans; search the rest of the world. We meet back at Ivy’s Jungle. Where we will explain everything. We Bats will take Cyborg with us to prepare and see if we can’t track the new location of the anti-life equation. I want that thing as far away from Earth and Darkseid as possible. Understood?”

There were several responses as the group split up. Lucy gave Jon a hug, telling him he had to come back, before she pulled away and went with the Bats. The moment they were safely in the Batplane, Jason threw of his helmet, yanked off his domino, and wrapped his arms around Dick before breaking down in sobs. It was a mess, but Jason hardly cared. Dick had died in his arms.

As Jason had suspected, there were already people waiting for them inside the jungle. A timer had been set as people worked on the computer to try and create firewalls to prevent the anti-life equation from ever using the internet. Others were mapping out potential natural disasters and how to combat them. And even more were recalling the medicine they had found to combat that diseases the anti-life equation had created. Jason wished that the deleting of the anti-life equation from Cyborg had been enough to mean all of this was unnecessary. But that was wishful thinking, and all 372 people who had survived knew it. Some of those 372 hadn’t even been born yet. Terry wouldn’t be born for another year. Matty for another four. Mary and Warren had almost made it. Maxine. Dana. Nelson. Melanie. None of them had been born yet.

And Helena. His baby sister. She would have only been born three days ago. Did she remember? Jason thought he would be sick if she did.

Of course, not to Jason’s surprise, so much as to his relief, Selina Kyle was the first person to greet him. Helena had outlived her dad, but Jason would have died before he let his baby sister lose her mom. And Selina had been a mom to all of them.

Helena cradled in her arms, Selina cupped his face, looking over the fresh cuts and bruises that were visible from the fight.

“I’m fine,” Jason whispered.

“Don’t you dare,” Selina hissed, pressing their foreheads together. “Don’t you dare lie to me.”

Bruce, who hadn’t officially met his daughter yet because Helena had been born early, and Bruce had been unreachable just days prior, looked at the baby in shock.

“Meet your daughter,” Selina rushed out, dumping Helena in the stunned arms of Batman. “Her name is Helena. She’s going to be a handful. We’re going to raise her together this time.”

Batman, for everyone to see, began to bulk and stutter as Selina moved to Damian and Lucy, checking them both over before moving on to Cass. Then Cyborg. Pam took the moment to join Jason.

“Harley doesn’t remember,” she told him, looking dejected and so, so tired. “Anyone who died doesn’t remember.”

That would explain Alfred. Much to Jason’s relief, Alfred had died of natural causes after the crisis had been cured. It was the first natural death any of them could remember since the anti-life equation, and though it caused grief, the 372 remaining had celebrated it just as much as they mourned the man.

“Who arrived?”

“Waylon is somewhere,” Ivy glanced around the jungle. “Probably in one of the pools Constantine purified just in case. AJ brought his mother, though Mera doesn’t remember either. Garth and Tula came with. The little prince was in tears when he saw Carrie and Nell. They’re with Night and Papa Jim.”

Jason snorted. The nickname had been a joke in banter, but many of the kids had adopted it.

“Blue brought his family,” Pam motioned to where Jaime and Milagro Reyes stood with a confused couple. “Irey and Jay brought their parents and Flash’s wife. She was pregnant.”

Jason’s heart clenched. They hadn’t had the time to check.

“Lo is here too,” Pam nodded to where said woman had just caught sight of them. “She brought Lillith and M’gann. Eddie is with Constantine, and Zatanna.”

“And the others are scattered,” Jason breathed in relief as Lois came to wrap Jason in a hug. “Is this real?”

“I hope so,” Lois Lane whispered back. “You must be sore and exhausted. Let’s get you all patched up while Jamie checks over Lucy’s work, okay?”

Jason nodded. He just wanted to crash, but the adrenaline and his instincts were screaming he wasn’t done yet. Plus, there were a few names not accounted for. Names that made Jason’s heart clench. He knew getting Attie would be a problem. That it would take all of them to do so. But Rose? Slade? Where were they?

He looked to Cass, the worry pouring from his body. But she had no comfort to give him. He looked to Cass because she wouldn’t look at him with pity. She never did. With her nod of understanding, she moved to his side And with a confidence that the 372 knew, Batman and Batwoman began their rounds of checking on everyone.

He needed to distract himself until the meeting, and then he would find Attie, Rose, and Slade.

\-------------------------------------

Heroes and villains alike stood together facing the heroes of Earth. Jason stood at the forefront, with Cass, Damian, Stephanie, Selina, Jim, and Lucy at his side. Their tear-filled reunion had been one that was messy, involving several hugs and far too many tissues.

When Superman and Jon returned, Lois had stalked right up to her husband and planted a kiss square on Clark’s lips. Then she promptly told her husband she was pregnant with their daughter and if he died on her again, she would kill him herself. Conner had hugged Kara first before falling into the warm embrace of Ma and Pa as Jon moved to hug Kara too.

Kaldur’ahm welcomed his King back with a hug, as well as his Queen, before turning to the love of his life and those he called brother. AJ clung to his parents, keeping an eye on Garth and Tula.

Artemis of Bana-Mighdall was rather confused by the odd request of her Princess, but did not deter from the hovering of her sisters. She enjoyed seeing Jason again, even if there was something odd about the encounter.

The rest of the heroes and villains intermingled with each other, some crying. Some in disbelief. Others clinging to those they lost. Jason had tried to wait on this meeting. Hoping that others would join them. Specifically three others. But Donna Troy and Jason Prince had not yet returned. Slade, Rose, and Attie still hadn’t shown up. With Diana’s approval, he called the meeting. The Survivors took to Jason’s side, while the remaing heroes and civilians stood with Bruce.

“I’ll admit I’m not entirely sure where to start,” Jason admitted. “But the basis is, every person you see before you lived through the aftermath of Darkseid winning that fight we just had.” Jason let that sink in clenching and unclenching his fists. “Cyborg had something inside of him called the anti-life equation. In essence, it is an equation that brings death. It started by attacking that internet. Anyone looking at a screen instantly died. We lost a lot of people that day, but that was an issue easy to handle. It wasn’t until later we learned the anti-life equation itself was alive. And completely adaptable.”

“Most of you died in the first wave,” Diana placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder, a comforting gesture. “Anyone in the Watchtower was dead in an instant. And half the heroes in the hall of Justice died instantly. Those of us that remained attacked the internet and began to rebuild. However, six months later, what we called natural phenomenons began to occur. It…took us too long to realize they were a result of the anti-life equation.”

“We eventually managed to combat the events,” Conner picked up. “But we lost a lot of lives then too. Most of Atlantis was wiped out. We had to find ways to purify water, thanks to Constantine, we handled that issue fairly quickly. However, Earthquakes, Volcanos, and Flooding became everyday occurrence. It became a battle to find a place stable enough to hold us. This very Jungle was destroyed in one of the first waves, but we had several lanterns on our side at that point and casualties were minimal.”

“Shortly after we started combating the natural phenomenons, there was a period of peace,” Steph continued bitterly. “The anti-life equation had realized tension was high, and many of us clashed. At one point, it seemed like we might have just killed each other off. You can imagine how furious the anti-life equation was when we stopped fighting each other and began to put aside our past to survive.”

“When we failed to kill ourselves off, the anti-life equation retaliated,” Dinah gripped Oliver’s hand, pulling her son closer to her side. Connor Hawke was only four. He didn’t need to remember this. “It created several diseases of unknown origin. Many of us fell ill. Few survived the first wave once they were infected, but by that point we were working together. We managed to synthesize cures just as fast as the anti-life equation was slipping them out. Themyscira was still relatively in one peace, so we took what survivors were left and moved there. By the end of the events, 373 of us were left.”

Jason finished their tale. “Lucy Quinzel here was one of the people who volunteered to try and learn more about Cyborg and the Father Box that gave him his powers. After five years of surviving the anti-life equation, she found the cure hidden deep within his programing in a place that might have been impossible to find to the naked eye. Upon realizing what it was, she had us re-install the internet so that the cure would be activated. Two weeks later, after the cure was implemented, Alfred Pennyworth died of natural causes. The first death not caused from the anti-life equation. Our survivor count was 372 by the time we were sent back, and not all 372 of us were born before the anti-life equation.”

“We will need to keep an eye on children like Helena,” Selina cradled her daughter closer. “She’s shown no sign of recognition of the past events, but that doesn’t mean something won’t trigger her memories.”

The heroes were quiet, looking at each of the survivors in horror. There would be more time to tell the story in detail later, but right now, it was clear the survivors did not want to discuss the ins-and outs of the last five years. For them, at least.

Not that they were given much of a chance to ask questions as the roof of the jungle parted to reveal Donna Troy and Jason Prince. Carrying people.

“Sorry we’re late,” Slade landed with the aid of Jason Prince, instantly leaning down to embrace the many children running to greet him. “We had to pick up the little Princess.”

Donna was kind enough to set Rose down in front of Jason, and Jason couldn’t stop the grin that split across his face. Attie, goodness she was tiny, reached for Jason, and he instantly pulled her to his chest. Then he pressed his forehead against Rose’s.

“Guess we know why you couldn’t see the future,” he whispered to her.

“Guess so.”

He was going to marry this woman or die trying. Though Rose probably wouldn’t like the latter of the two. He wanted to kiss her so bad, but they both knew there were more important things than their love life at the moment. Damian easily accepted Athanasia from Jason, whispering to her quickly and quietly. Some many children that never got to meet their parents. So many children who had yet to be born. Athanasia deserved to meet her father. As did Helena. Mareena hadn’t even been conceived yet. And Mar’i was only two years old and with Kori right now. Did she remember? Iris West II and Jai West had seen their parents die. Linda had been so close to making it too. And Lara. Lois only discovered she was pregnant two months after the anti-life equation struck the internet.

“Right,” Slade clamped a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “I assume our first order of business is taken care of, so, we need to figure out why we were sent back.”

Yeah, Jason had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer to that question.

\----------------------------

For the sake of the sanity of the survivors, they were permitted to stay the night in Ivy’s Jungles. For the sake of legal issues, they were all returned to their homes by the very heroes and villains that became their friends over the course of the survival. Phone numbers were exchanged, and promises to get ham radios were also made. Some people who lived in similar continents even exchanged addresses in order to send mail.

It was then agreed that Ivy’s Jungle be relocated so that people could visit freely, though the location was yet to be determined. The Jungle had once been a safe haven, and Ivy intended to open it for anyone from the survivors who wished to visit. Nell and Carrie, both orphans, were quickly entrusted to Jason and Cass so that they would have people they trusted to stay with. Jim went home, Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, quick to follow. After a bit of negotiation, Rose and Lucy were set to stay with the Wayne family, too.

Damian, Athanasia, Jon, Nell, Carrie, and Lucy had a group hug with AJ Curry, Iris West II, Jai West, Lian Harper, Connor Hawke, and Lyta Milton, and Milagro Reyes. The group had become a team over the course of the five years, along with several children yet to be born. Or, in the case of Mar’i, too young to remember (thank goodness). After temporary goodbyes, the group went their separate ways.

To grieve and find relief at this change. At this second chance.

Slade, for obvious reasons, had not been able to go with them to Wayne Manor, though he stayed with Ivy in the safety of the Jungle, along with many former villains who survived with them and became family. The shock of both Attie and Helena had been a lot for Bruce to handle, and if Jason wasn’t still so exhausted, he might have keeled over in laughter at Bruce’s face. But the shock of the day had been too much for all of them. After Doctor Leslie Thompkins (and wasn’t it a blessing to see that woman alive again, no matter how grumpy she was) checked them all over, Alfred sent them all off to bed with the promise to have a nice meal ready when they woke up.

Bruce and Selina had gone off to Bruce’s room with Helena, perhaps to talk and cradle the baby girl between them. Most of the Bat children had gone to Dick’s room, as he had the larger bed for them to share. But Jason and Rose had gone their own way, needing the peace of each other more than ever.

“I hope Mar’i never remembers.”

Jason hummed his agreement, curling tighter around Rose.

“I wish _I_ never remembered.”

“Then we wouldn’t have this.”

Rose lightly slapped his chest. “You know what I mean. The kids, Jay…”

“I know,” Jason hummed. “Wish we could adopt them all.”

“You’re rich.”

“My _dad_ is rich. I’m still legally dead.”

“Then your dad can adopt them.”

“And have dozens of little vigilantes running around Gotham? No thank you.”

“…Auntie Pam could adopt them. Most of them grew up in the Jungle for a year anyways.”

“Yeah…”

“You don’t like that idea?”

“No. It’s just…it will be weird. Waking up here in the Manor. This place was destroyed first. Remember? We were lucky enough that Dex was here to save us.”

It was true. Gotham had been the very first place the anti-life equation had released the natural phenomenons. The water was already poisonous, but Constantine had purified everything within the Jungle long before then. The anti-life equation had been furious with the Green, unable to act against it naturally. The equation was not made to outright kill the green. So it improvised. With the efforts of Swamp Thing and Dex-starr, the green had shielded them enough to aid their escape from Gotham, but the Green had suffered. Pam had collected seeds along their journey and planted them in Themyscira. Alfred had helped her in this endeavor, and the two grew a magnificent garden together. As long as they took care of the Green, the Green took care of them.

“You won’t be alone,” Rose whispered. “I’m here. We’re all here. We’ll get through the nightmares together. Okay?”

Jason pressed a kiss to Rose’s nose. “Yeah. Okay.”

That morning, well into that afternoon, there were many screams of terror. Many nightmares that jolted the survivors all over the Earth. But none of them were alone. Friendships brought people together. Family members were wrapped around the family member that survived the five years. And in the Wayne family, everyone eventually migrated to Dick’s room, bringing blankets and mattresses and pillows so that they could remain in the presence of each other.

As a family. A weirdly messed up one, but still a family.


	3. The Blood of Red Robin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian reveals how Tim died, and how he blamed himself.

Dick was positively _loving_ the fact that the siblings who hated hugging were wrapping around him like octopuses. Sure, the reasons behind the physical affection were terrible, but Dick wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It was just…Jason was doing most of the clinging. Don’t get Dick wrong. He’s wanted to hold his Little Wing like this since the moment he came back. But this blatant attachment. It sends a bunch of red flags through Dick’s mind. Not even Rose, Jason obvious girlfriend, seems to mind the fact that Jason can’t seem to let go of Dick. The other, glaring obvious red flag is the way Damian keeps watching Tim. Not like, threateningly either. Just staring. Sometimes Damian will appear to reach out for the older, but he always pulled away at the last second.

“You’re thinking too hard, Dickie,” Jason mumbled into Dick’s chest.

Dick chuckled. “I don’t think that’s a thing, Little Wing.”

Something in Jason sagged at the nickname. “Yeah it is. You and Dami both do it. Get all tense and stiff when you think.”

The two watched from where they were sprawled on the couch, as Steph finally rolled her eyes and dragged Damian over to Tim’s opposite side. Tim and Damian both let out yelps of surprise, but Damian instantly latched into Tim, burying his face in the older’s shoulder. It was only with the slight shake of the boy’s body that Dick knew Damian was crying.

“Tim saved his life,” Jason told Dick. “Dami was already injured and Tim shoved him out of the way of a falling building. There wasn’t a chance to do anything. Tim was dead before Dami had fully touched the ground again. Doctor Mid-nite said it was quick.”

Jason didn’t sound like he believed that.

Damian didn’t talk about it, not even to Jon or Lucy. The others guessed Attie might know some of the story, but she never confirmed or denied the suspicion. Whatever happened that day remained locked in Damian’s mind.

Until now.

“We said…we would try to be brothers.”

Tim and Steph whipped their heads towards Damian in shock, and in Steph’s case, horror. She knew what that meant for Damian. Maybe not the Damian of the past, but the Damian she had seen grow up…it would have meant the world. Steph looked to Jason and Dick, seeing them both tense and alert. Jason’s eyes were blown wide.

This was big. For all of them.

\------------------------------

If anyone asked why Damian had gone out, he would have said it was because he was Robin. In reality, he had gone out because he still needed that distraction from the reality of his life. They needed supplies, and running around Gotham was just enough of a distraction for Damian’s mind. At least, that was what he was telling himself.

Only a few months ago, his Father had been alive. Back from a successful mission to stop Darkseid. Or so they believed. Six months ago, the anti-life equation was launched. Heroes, villains, and civilians alike were killed and brought together to survive. They had begun to rebuild around the loss, but…

The entire world shook. Damian was flung violently into a building, gasping in pain as glass embedded in his skin. What was happening?

Just as soon as it started, it stopped. There was a moment where Damian attempted to catch his breath. Maybe eight seconds. And then the world shook again. Damian sent out a distress beacon instantly, knowing he wouldn’t get far in his current state. But he was Robin, dang it. He turned to the horrified family, looking to see a small baby and a four year old.

“Take them,” the mother pushed the two children at him. “Please!”

Damian didn’t need to be told twice. He took the two and launched out the window in the gap between Earthquakes. The world was slowly tearing itself apart. Had one of Batman’s contingencies gone wrong? Damian had never seen Earthquakes like this before. Desperate to save the children he was holding onto, Damian rushed them to Poison Ivy’s Jungle. The pain in his body was clouding his thoughts, and he hardly remembered that Ivy hadn’t yet agreed to this arrangement of keeping people within her Jungle. He just thrust them into the arms of the stunned plant woman and went to save more people.

He couldn’t save everyone. Some died before he could reach them. Some died because the Earthquakes threw him away. Damian’s body was littered with scars and cuts and bruises. But he kept going, more on adrenaline than anything else. Then, a particularly bad quake left Damian trapped in a building. He couldn’t reach his distress beacon, not that he thought it would work with the internet permanently down. His body was too tired from being thrown around. He couldn’t move to save his own life.

He would be with his father soon.

“ROBIN!”

That voice…

He knew that voice.

“ROBIN! ROBIN! REPORT!”

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Well, there was a sound, but it was more like a whimper. To quiet to hear. Unless you were Superman or something.

“Forget it,” the voice hissed, awfully close. “DAMIAN! WHERE ARE YOU! DAMIAN!”

Damian tried again, the sound coming from his mouth just a little louder.

“DAMIAN?” the voice called. “DAMIA-! Damian!

Tim Drake, clad as Red Robin, appeared before him. The older stared in horror at his baby brother, hand reaching out slowly to grasp Damian’s face. Damian leaned into the touch, shutting his eyes at the warmth. He was so cold.

“No,” Tim hissed, shaking Damian a but, much to the younger’s annoyance. “Come on, Damian. Breathe. Deep breaths. Keep you’re eyes open, okay? I’m going to get you out. But you need to stay awake.”

Damian protested as Tim began to move him. But he couldn’t physically fight back. How long had he been rescuing civilians? How long had these Earthquakes been happening? Damian wasn’t sure.

“Come on, buddy,” Tim settled Damian against his back. “Come on you little demon. Let’s go.”

“Not a demon,” Damian wheezed. “Don’t like it.”

Tim paused. Not in his steps, but in his words.

“Okay. Not a demon. Little bat?”

“Not a bat,” Damian protested again. “Not worthy.”

Tim let out a laugh. “You? Not worthy? What’s in your head, bud?”

“Father is gone,” Damian wheezed again. “Gone. Not coming back.”

“Yeah…” Tim sighed, still picking his way through the rubble with Damian on his back. “Yeah…I know…what’s that got to do with you being a bat?”

“Angry. Vengeful.”

“So was B,” Tim scoffed. “So are the rest of us, though we’re better at hiding it. Okay. Duke was the exception. But the rest of us are all angry and vengeful too. I mean, I tried to kill Captain Boomerang.”

Damian said nothing.

“Wait? Why have the Earthquakes stopped? No. Don’t answer that. I’m not going to like it. Just focus on Damian. Focus, Tim.”

Was Tim…talking to himself?

“Good job on getting Ivy to let people in the Jungle, by the way,” Tim snickered, now talking to Damian again. “How did you managed that?”

“Threw a baby at her.”

Tim barked a laugh. “Sounds like something you would do. Hey! No sleeping. Eyes open, baby bat.”

“No. Not baby bat.”

“Too bad,” Tim snickered. “If Dick is Big Bird, Jason is Little Wing, and I’m Baby Bird, then you’re Baby Bat.”

“You should be Baby Bat.”

Again, Tim snorted. “Yeah right. I’ve seen my future as Batman, Damian. I’m not touching that cowl with a thirty-nine and a half-foot pole.”

“The Grinch?”

“Yeah. Guess Dick has been educating you? Doctor Suess was a master of words.”

“Make believe words.”

Tim barked a laugh again. Damian couldn’t remember the last time he heard Tim laugh this much. It was…nice. Tim didn’t deserve to suffer as Damian had made him do.

“Do you think…we could have been brothers?”

This time, Tim did stop physically moving.

“I don’t know,” Tim admitted with a sigh, picking up his pace after a moment. “I’ve always wanted a little brother, you know? Or sister. But I always thought a brother would be cooler. When I first saw you, I was so excited. I was going to train with you, and when Bruce said you were ready, I was going to give you Robin.”

“You were…going to give me Robin?”

“Course. Robin is the ‘Boy Wonder’ for a reason. I knew I couldn’t hold the title forever.”

“But you were so mad-”

“I was mad because Dick hadn’t talked to me about it _before_ he gave it to you. I was mad because you were a little jerk about it when I had not only just lost my dad, but my friends too. I felt betrayed, like my time as Robin hadn’t mattered. None of us handled that situation well. Least of all me.”

“You were right to be angry.”

“Maybe. But I can see where Dick was coming from. I mean, I did try to re-clone my best friend. I’ve been told I don’t handle loss well.”

Damian said nothing, trying to keep his eyes open as Tim pressed his way through the building. Damian could see the exit. They were almost free. Almost safe.

“We could try, you know?”

“Try?” Damian asked.

“To be brothers. I’d like that. If you’re okay with it.”

Damian felt his heart constrict.

“I’d like that, too.”

Before Damian could figure out what was happening, just as Tim stepped foot outside, he grabbed Damian and threw him. It wasn’t until Damian hit the ground that he realized what happened. The Earthquake had come back, stronger than the ones previous. Tim had seen it coming, but Damian had been too exhausted to notice. Tim knew they wouldn’t both survive, so the older had done a last-ditch effort.

Seeing Tim’s mangled body, Damian screamed. His body was too weak to crawl towards the corpse crushed under the building beams. Eyes open, and a smile on the older boy’s face. And Damian screamed. He screamed until Jason appeared with Cass and the Commissioner. He screamed as Cass pulled him into his arms and Jason let out a wail before trying to unbury the mangled body of his replacement (his brother). And he screamed until Dick landed in front of them.

Then he passed out.

\----------------------------------

They hadn’t had the time to bury the body. Ivy had melded the remains of Tim’s body into the Jungle. A tree. They had burned Tim’s body and used the ashes to plant a tree. When the Jungle began to collapse under the natural phenomenons, Damian had taken Tim’s uniform and a seed from the tree. He carried Tim with him, eventually planting that seed on Themyscira and burying the uniform at its base.

Tim’s tree (as they all called it) was where Damian went to think. If one couldn’t fine the boy, they went to the tree. Auntie Pam had been kind enough to help the tree grow so that Damian could rest in its branches.

“Dami,” Tim breathed to the younger. “I know I’m not the same as that Tim from the future, but I do know I meant every word about us being brothers.”

Damian threw himself against Tim, wrapping his arms around the older as he sobbed anew. The others pulled back, letting Tim and Damian have their moment. They deserved it, after all.

Jason finally left Dick’s side, with a lingering grab at Dick’s wrist, before leaving to find the kids and Rose. It took Dick a moment to realize that the grab had been intended for Dick’s pulse.

It left Dick with a lot of questions.

Those questions, however, needed to wait as Alfred brought forth Koriand’r and their two year old Mar’i Grayson. Mar’i seemed as happy as ever, but Kori eyed Dick with disbelief. Having seen his family’s reaction, Dick pulled the two into a hug.

“I’m here,” Dick whispered into her hair.

“I know,” Kori breathed back. “And I cannot think what I did to deserve this blessing. I missed you. I wish you had been there to see Mar’i grow up the first time. You would have adored her.”

How soon had Dick died? He managed to gather that he at least survived the first wave, maybe even the second. How far had he made it?

“It’s not my story to tell,” Kori’s words brought Dick back to the present. “Jay-Jay will tell it when the time is right.”

“Jay-Jay?”

Kori smiled, glad the love of her life would easily change the subject. “There were quite a few Jason’s wandering around in the future. Many of the children under our care decided they needed distinguishable nicknames. Your Jason was declared Jay-Jay, or Jay. Jason Blood was called Grandpa Blood. And Queen Diana’s twin brother was Prince Jay. Or often just Prince.”

Dick had yet to meet Diana’s twin. Officially, at least. They had gotten a hasty introduction when they finished defeating Darkseid and Diana was trying to pull herself together so Lucy could work. But they hadn’t properly introduced themselves.

“Kids?” Dick decided to ask instead.

“We thought it…best to keep as many children alive as possible,” Kori looked to where Mar’i was floating just above her father, holding onto his finger. “They would eventually be our future. And as you can imagine, there were births within the five years. We loved each of those children as our own, though Jim and Slade were some of the few to earn the title of dad. Lois and Selina, as well as Diana and Nubia claimed the name mom with the children. The rest of us were Big Sister, Big Brother, Uncle or Auntie. You were Uncle Bat for a time.”

“I was Batman.”

“For a time. Yes. The world needed a Superman and a Wonder Woman. But it also needed a Batman. You were the best candidate at the time.”

“And then Jason.”

Kori’s expression grew sad. “You asked him to be Batman. So he took the role. The burden of Batman was unlike that of Superman and Wonder Woman. Where the two were beacons of hope, and ways to avert disasters, Batman was the planner and detective. It fell to you both to make sure there wasn’t pointless killings, and to make sure that lives were saved, and people were moved quickly and safely. A job that took its toll on you both.”

Dick could _see_ the toll it had taken on his brother. On his sister. On Steph and Damian. On all of the new kids currently in their care. He still needed to call Babs about the Commissioner. It was clear the man had survived.

“We lost so many,” Kori whispered. “So many loved ones. We thought it would never stop.”

If Dick had his timeline right, for a moment, it had. They had been free. Safe. For six weeks, the anti-life equation was gone, and they were taking the time to mourn those they lost. And then they woke up. On the very day they lost everything. Dick couldn’t even begin to imagine what they must all be feeling.

Dick jolted as the front doors were thrown open, and Kori went tense almost instantly. He was already pulling Mar’i to his chest when the voice called out.

“Jay! Rose! Cass! Steph! Dam-!”

Dick and Kori rounded the corner to see a head a beautiful platinum blonde hair fanned out behind an equal beautiful face. An equally beautiful and familiar face. It had been Cass and Steph who had tackled the woman to the ground, and she was laughing and crying in response.

“Is that-?”

“Silver St. Cloud?”

Bruce was staring at the woman in shock, though she seemed to be paying him no mind. Instead, she crawled out from under Steph and Cass and threw her arms wide to welcome a hug from Lucy, Attie, Nell, and Carrie. Selina came racing around the corner, dumping Helena into Bruce’s arms and throwing her arms around Silver and the four girls.

Rose and Jason stood stunned, but where Rose was covering her mouth, Jason was grinning like a lunatic, both with tears falling down their faces. Silver pulled away from the girls to accept a hug from the two, both easily falling into her embrace. They laughed and sobbed, and Silver only pulled away from them when Damian ran around the corner and lunged into Silver’s arms.

“Kori,” Silver breathed, noticing the other girl there. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Kori wasted no time in fulfilling that request.

Of the many people who survived, very few earned the title of “dad” or “mom”. Jim Gordon and Slade Wilson were two who achieved that title among the children. But there were far more “moms” than there were “dads”. Diana, of course, received this title whole-heartedly. And though with resistance at first, Selina Kyle and Lois Lane both took the title with some reluctance, but they lived up to their titles well. But another to take such a title was Silver St. Cloud. When Tim died, it was Silver who turned to Damian’s side, comforting him through his grief and caring for him as he healed. She was a shoulder for Dick Grayson to turn too when Batman became too much, and she did the same when Jason took the mantle. She was the mom Rose couldn’t remember. The ears you told all your secrets, and Silver took to the role of “mom” like none of the others had.

Silver St. Cloud was the mother of heroes and villains alike, and she wore that title proudly.

“I got on the first flight I could,” Silver told the others, reaching to pull the four girls and Damian close once more. “I woke up in the middle of a photoshoot and demanded I be returned to Gotham the moment I realized where I was.”

“I’m just glad you’re here,” Selina told the other girl, both smiling brightly at the other.

“Oh my goodness, Mar’i and Helena are so small,” Silver breathed, grinning at the two little girls. “I can’t remember the last time they were so small. Look at them. They’re so beautiful.”

Silver turned once more to Jason, and this time, her smile was sad. She reached to cup his face, and no one missed the way Silver ran her thumb over Jason’s face. Starting from just above his right eye and ending all the way just passed the corner of his right lip.

A scar that wasn’t there. That was the conclusion the detectives came to. At least, the ones that hadn’t been there.

“Alfie doesn’t remember.”

“Okay,” Silver hummed. “Okay.”

She pulled Rose to her once more before turning to the other occupants in the room. Her first act was to jab Bruce in the chest with her index finger. “You’re an idiot. A stupid, self-sacrificing idiot who needs to tell his kids he loves them.” Then she spun on Tim. “You, I am going to get to know you better than you know yourself.” Then she spun on Dick. “And you, mister, are just as bad as your father. I am going to give you a hug whenever I possibly can.”

And she did. She threw her arms around Dick and pulled him into the type of hug a mother would give her son. It was warm, and gentle, yet firm. It was everything Dick wanted in a hug. So he easily melted into it.

This wasn’t so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I showed, like, no mercy to so many of these characters. I have no regrets.


	4. Two Justice Leagues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two Justice Leagues meet together for the first time to discuss what happened over those five years. They are surprised to realize just how many of them died, and how many survived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for the long list at the beginning. I struggled with this chapter because it was the chapter where I reveal just how many of your favorite heroes ended up dying due to the anti-life equation. The best way I could convey this was with the list. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter anyways.

The founding members of the Justice League could be narrowed down to Batman (Bruce Wayne), Superman (Clark Kent), Wonder Woman (Diana Prince), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman (Arthur Curry), Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onzz), and Flash (Barry Allen). Since that time, new members had been added to their ranks, such as Hawkwoman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Captain Marvel and Cyborg. As well as many others.

But upon the birth of the anti-life equation, the only living member of the original founders was Diana, and Diana gave up her role as Wonder Woman to become the new Queen of Themyscira upon the death of her mother. So a new Justice League took its place.

Jason Todd, Conner Kent, Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner, Kaldur’ahm, M’gann M’orzz, and Wallace West took the roles of the Justice League after the death of their mentors. With Shiera Hall, Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance, Billy Batson, and Victor Stone to guide them, the group worked to combat the anti-life equation with the aid of other heroes and villains.

This was the first time in history that both versions of the Justice League were present in one place at one time solely as members of the Justice League. To even the playing field, Diana, Shiera, Oliver, Dinah, Billy, and Vic were stepping away from the discussion because they were on both sides of these teams.

To add to the current founders of the Justice League, the first Justice League was accompanied by members that had joined over time. Members such as Dick Grayson, Ray Palmer, John Stewart, Mari Jiwe McCabe, Michael Carter, Kara Zor-El, Barbara Gordon, Jefferson Pierce, Brion Markov, Wally West, Carter Hall, Jim Harper, Garth, Queen Mera, Jay Garrick, and Alan Scott. All people they had lost too soon in their fight for survival.

On the second Justice League’s side were familiar face, though many of them younger. Nubia Prince, stood proudly by Donna’s side, Jason Prince standing between Jason Todd and Donna. On Jason Todd’s other side was Rose Wilson, standing between Jason and Conner. Among the group was Cassie Sandsmark, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Jesse Chambers, Jennifer Hayden, Emiko Queen, Roy Harper, Koriand’r, Lilith Clay, Eddie Bloomberg, Mary Batson, Jamie Reyes, Courtney Whitmore, and Greta Hayes. And from what Jason Todd had stated at the beginning of this meeting, there were others who had been unable to attend.

“You want to what?”

The room was silent, disbelief radiating in the room.

“We want to reevaluate some of our enemies,” Donna stated again, the confidence of Wonder Woman radiating off of her. “We would also like to extend our hand to many such enemies we befriend and lost. Enemies such as Floyd Lawton, whose daughter got in touch with us shortly after our return. She wants to take him to Blüdhaven to re-meet the orphans and children he helped us save. Orphans such as Billy and Mary Batson.”

“I wasn’t aware you’re foster parents gave you back to foster care?” Barry frowned over at where Captain Marvel sat with Diana.

“They didn’t,” Billy whispered. “They were killed in the first wave. My siblings and I were collectively grounded for sneaking out late at night. Fawcett city was overrun with orphans in between the waves of survivors, and we were sent to Blüdhaven.”

Looks of horror passed the faces of the First JL. Diana was already wrapping her arms around her friend, while Jason Todd had pulled Mary into his lap to soothe her. He had been with Floyd at that orphanage. Befriended many of those kids. Just him and Cass. And the Commissioner. They had agreed to watch over Blüdhaven in exchange for Dick going to Gotham to act as Batman. The moment Billy and his siblings stepped off that bus, Jason did everything in his power to get them alone and assure them that they would be okay.

“You were already giving that opportunity to Pamela Isley,” Conner pointed out. “She has more than made up for her past mistakes, and many of us as survivors connected with the Green she so adores. We proved her deepest fear wrong by co-existing with the Green to survive. She wasn’t the only one. Carol Ferris was a great alley to us, along with the red lantern, Dex-Starr. Both came back with memories in-tact. Slade Wilson unintentionally became a dad of over two thousand kids in the span of five years, and he mourned when he lost one. That man has saved most of our lives a dozen times over.”

“He’s an assassin,” Hal pointed out.

And to the groups surprise, Jason Todd held out his wrists. “Then you might as well go ahead and arrest me.”

But what this did was lead to something so horrifying, the entire First Generation of the Justice League froze. First Rose held out her wrists beside Jason. Then Jason Prince. Conner Kent and Donna Troy repeated the same action. One by one, the entire second generation of the Justice League held out their wrists. Including Mary Batson, the youngest member of that team.

“We all killed,” Diana was the one to speak. “We killed for our own reasons, none of them justifiable. It wasn’t until the death of Dick Grayson that we realized how pointless these deaths were. But we killed and murdered, enemies, brothers, sisters. Whether by our own actions or by the will of the anti-life equation, we are all murderers.”

The weight of that statement seemed to shake the entire world and shatter it piece by piece.

\------------------------------

“None of us wanted to know,” Diana told Bruce and Clark later that evening over a late dinner. “Not because we were punishing ourselves, but because we agreed that we needed to hold accountability for those actions. We taught the children why what we did was wrong, and Jason took it upon himself to show the kids why Batman should never kill. He blames himself for Dick’s death.”

“Was everyone effected?”

Diana shook her head. “Dick was one not affected. Darla Dudley was another. And in all honesty, I’m not sure Jason Todd was affected.”

This took both Clark and Bruce by surprise. Jason Todd hadn’t been affected?

“Throughout this entire thing, Jason only ever killed three people. Catalina Flores was the first, though many of us planned to kill the woman ourselves. The second was out of mercy and respect for Floyd Lawton. The man was trapped, and in dire pain. We didn’t have the medical supplies needed to save his life. He begged for death, and Jason gave it to him. Jason only ever killed once during the entire time we started our mass slaughter of each other, and that was in retaliation to the death of Dick Grayson.”

“Who-?”

“That is not my story to tell,” Diana shook her head. “Jason will tell it when he is ready, but I beg of you not to press him. There are only three people alive that know the full reason as to why Jason did what he did, and not one of them would dare speak a word of it without Jason’s go ahead.”

Diana was not one of those people, though she knew who they were. Silver St. Cloud, Slade Wilson, and Lucy Quinzel. And all three guarded the secret close to their hearts. Not even Rose knew the whole story, but she had seen glimpses of it. Had pieced together an idea of what took place. But the events themselves were difficult to talk about for Jason.

“So you survived in Themyscira?” Bruce, bless him, changed the subject.

“Not at first,” Diana gave a sheepish smile. “After the first wave, we were all recovering from the loss, and then the second wave came. We scattered to several safe havens. Jotunheim, The Fortress of Solitude, Kahndaq, Pam’s Jungle, Markovia, anywhere we could avoid the catastrophes. But the anti-life equation was crafty. It found ways bypass our safety measures. At one point, I believed Themyscira was destroyed until Wink found it by chance. It had been dislodged from its former home. Most of the Amazons were slaughtered, including my mother. We slowly moved the survivors from Man’s World to Themyscira, using the Lanterns we had left to shield us, and the magic users among us enforced our protection.”

“And then Lucy found the cure.”

Diana smiled wistfully. “She’s clever and witty. Helped your youngest son screw his head on right. When Harley was still alive with us, she used to claim she had no idea where Lucy got her heart. We all feared the girl’s reaction when Harley died of the disease, but she was stronger than ever when it called for it. You had better take care of her, Bruce.”

“I’ll do my best,” Bruce nodded. “If Jason and the girls ever let me near her long enough to actually parent her.”

Diana let out a surprised laugh. She missed Bruce and Clark, more than the others. They were her first friends, the first male heroes she met in Man’s World, and they welcomed her with open arms. Or in Batman’s case, hostile but open. They were her friends, her brothers, just as much as her twin. At one point, she would have considered them both lovers (at different points, of course), but they had since moved passed that. Diana, especially, had moved passed that after spending five years of her life with two of the most remarkable women Man’s World had to offer.

“And your…twin?” Clark asked.

The Justice League had already met Nubia, her sister, but they had yet to have any dealings with her twin, Jason.

“As you can imagine,” Diana smiled sheepishly. “Hera is not fond of having a son born between her husband and another woman. My mother was horrified to realize she was getting more than just a daughter. Not wanting her son to face the wrath of Hera, she gave him to Glaucus to hide. I myself only learned of his existence by the twisted will of another.”

There was so much that needed to be said. So many people Diana wanted to spend time with. She had been with her mother, sisters, and brother before the meeting. And now she was here with her two best friends. There were still others she needed to reach out too.

She hadn’t had the chance to talk to Silver yet, either. She adored that woman. And the children. What of the children who had lived through this entire ordeal? Did they all remember? Carrie and Nell certainly remembered. But what of Letitia? Madison? Zaid? Gareth? Slade and Jim practically raised those children. What of Justin? He had died before they found safety. And Billy Batson. Mary, Darla, Eugene, Freddie, Pedro. Those sweet kids entrusted with power so young. Did they all remember? Billy hadn’t said. Had simply rushed to Jason Todd the moment the meeting was over and sobbed into his chest with Mary.

Diana wished to race to Blüdhaven to find her children. She wished to scatter all over the world and find the children they had raised together. Were they safe? Were they loved? Did they know the crisis had been averted? And what of those children that had been born during the disaster? Terry, Dana, Melanie, Lara, Mareena, Matty? Would they still be born now? She knew Lara would be coming soon. But what of Warren and Mary McGinnis? Would the Tan family continue to live in Gotham? Would they be able to save Melanie Walker from her abusive parents?

It was all so much. Too much.

“I’m sorry,” Diana buried her face in her hands. “I’m sorry.”

Clark led her out of the restaurant as Bruce paid for their meal. The fresh, Metropolis air did wonders, but it was like a dream. Part of Diana feared she would wake up and be back on Themyscira with her friends gone, making plans to rebuild.

“I’m sorry. This feels so right and wrong at the same time. I don’t understand.”

“Don’t apologize, Diana.” Bruce told her, gentle, like speaking to a child. “We may not understand, but you’re not alone. You’re welcome at the Manor whenever you need to visit. The offer extends to your family, Clark. They’ll need the familiarity of each other more than anything.”

Clark nodded. “Why don’t we go see Lois and the kids. Then we can talk about making our way over to Gotham for the night.”

Diana took a handkerchief from Bruce with a nod towards Clark. She’d summon her brother and sisters to her side, and they would make a night of it. Together.

\-------------------------------

“Essence.”

Jason was too tired to deal with anyone from the All-Caste right now. They had all been whipped out during the poisoning of the water and the natural phenomenons. Jason had felt it happen, but was more worried about his baby brother than anything else.

“So it’s true. You have lived through a great tragedy.”

At that, Jason whipped around. Essence wasn’t here to taunt him. No, her tone of voice and the pain she used to speak deterred that thought. She was here for another reason. And by the sound of her voice, he wasn’t going to like it.

“What do you know?”

Essence grimaced. “The timeline was rest, and most of you were given your memories in tact. The cause of the reset was kinder to those younger than the age of four.”

That wasn’t in the least bit comforting. At all. There were too many children older than four that would remember. Jason clenched his fists.

“Who?”

“The anti-monitor.”

Jason felt like all the air was punched out of his gut.

“He was…bored, as he declared to S’aru. It appears he is rather fond of Earth, and so he used the Mobius Chair to reset time.”

“I thought the Mobius Chair could only travel through time? A collector of knowledge?”

“I will not pretend to understand the anti-monitor. And it best you attempt to try. But you had a right to know why you were back.”

Jason felt like his whole body was vibrating. “Ducra disapproved.”

“Quite the opposite. S’aru thought it best you flounder for answers. I am only here because S’aru has spent his time trying to prevent Ducra from telling you, that it apparently escaped his notice you and I had made up.”

Oh. She was clever. That was good. Beyond good, really.

“Nevertheless, we fear something may be coming,” Essence continued bitterly. “A major crisis was averted, and it may attract the attention of others.”

“I can think of a list,” Jason grumbled back. “Thank you, Essence. We will do what we can?”

If Jason Peter Todd-Wayne ever met the anti-monitor, he was going to punch that man in the face. And maybe kiss him. But he would definitely punch the man a few times first.

Why was this his life?

\-------------------------------

The following day, the entire world was hit by the rough version of the survival of the 372. No names were given, though certain heroes were listed. The entire Manor was awoken to Vicki Vale at the door. Apparently, Perry White was looking for Lois and Clark, and Jimmy Olsen had called Vicki Vale when he had been unable to reach either. She quickly delivered her message and went back on her way. She may not have been happy with her breakup with Bruce Wayne, but one look at Damian Wayne was all she needed. She would not be getting her story from Wayne Manor.

“Uncle Jimmy’s eye will be back,” Lucy said off-handedly later that morning at breakfast.

If Lois hadn’t chucked her family’s cell phones, she might have called Jimmy then and there. He hadn’t been with them in the Jungle. But Jason vaguely remembered that Jimmy had been there during the battle of Darkseid. An over-sight like that made Jason sick, but he was glad to know Jimmy was okay.

“Clark,” Lois chocked out. “ _Please._ ”

Clark was gone before anyone could speak. Alfred, bless him, began to set up another spot for breakfast. When Clark finally returned with Jimmy, Jimmy seemed to be staring at Clark in shock and awe before he promptly gave the man a hug.

“There, uh, there’s something you guys should see,” Jimmy held up his camera as he pulled away.

A very familiar, banged up, scratched up, impossible but still there, camera.

Every single survivor flinched at the sight of the Bat-computer. Though it had been the first wave, there was no forgetting the millions of people that dropped dead right before their eyes. Batman had done what he could. But he lost his life to this very computer. Still. They needed to see.

“Oh, sweet Hera,” Diana breathed in horror at the images that Bruce slowly clicked through. “How is this possible?”

Pictures. Familiar pictures. Pictures of the bodies dropping. Pictures of people dying of poisoned water. Pictures of people trapped and dying during natural phenomenons. Pictures of the manslaughter that took place. Pictures of the diseases that killed off so many.

But among those pictures were happy ones too. Pictures of the recovery after the first wave. Pictures of Ivy’s Jungle. Picture of Jim, Cass, Slade, Jason, Rose, and many other villains returning to the garden with the Marvel family and the orphans of Blüdhaven. Pictures of children being born. Pictures of children growing up. Pictures of weddings. Birthdays. The new order of the Justice League.

Jason wasn’t sure whether to be horrified or relieved that Jimmy’s pictures had been brought back with them. He supposed they were supposed to be part of their gift. A terrible gift, really. But also a good one. And Jason was in tears as he watched his children frolic and play in the happier pictures.

He might just go ahead with Rose’s plan to move their kids to the Jungle. Auntie Pam was nearly done relocating. He’d just have to figure out if Bruce would let him adopt the children legally or if he was going to have to kidnap them.

It would be fine.


	5. The Second Generation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two generations of founding Justice League members meet for the first time. Some things are cleared up, and even those who survived have more questions.
> 
> Meanwhile, the New Titans have their own meeting, and their own concerns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to post yesterday. Whoops.

As it turned out, Jason had no need to make plans to claim (or kidnap) the kids he had helped raised. A few hours after the announcement of what had happened to the 372, and only two hours after breakfast, Slade messaged Rose. Rose, in turn, had bolted around the entire manor, shoving the radio in Jason’s face and tugging Cass to join them.

It took Jason seconds to realize he was hearing Morse Code, and only a couple minutes of hearing the message itself for him to piece it together.

_Our kids are in the Jungle. Come to the Jungle._

Jason didn’t need to be told twice. He raced to the batcave with Rose, and Cass on his heels, jumping into the Batmobile and taking off before anyone could stop him. It felt good to be behind the wheel of this car again. Once, five years ago, Jason had driven this very car to Blüdhaven with Cass and Commissioner Gordon to negotiate the protection of Blüdhaven. He’d driven it back to Gotham once to save Damian, only to lose Tim. And then he had been in the process of driving it a second time when Rose had warned him of the incoming danger.

The Jungle parted for them, and the three were barely out of the car before they were tackled by a hoard of children. Jason burst out into laughter as Madison and Garth wrapped themselves around him.

The two eventually detached themselves so they could hug the other two. Jason’s gaze landed on Letitia.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he brushed some lose hair from her head. “Did you stage a breakout?”

Letitia nodded, face determined. “We needed to see you. And with you being Red Hood in this time period, we weren’t sure if this time’s Nightwing would let you through.”

Oh his sweet kids. “You forget that this Nightwing was Batman first. Remember? My big brother. Rosie, Cass, and I were working on a plan to get to you guys anyways. But I’m so glad you’re here.”

Letitia threw herself into Jason’s arms. Like Nell and Carrie, Letitia had to be strong. She hadn’t been Robin or Batgirl like the younger girls had, but she had taken charge as the face of children civilians. She had been so strong. Grown up too quickly. Like most of them.

These kids didn’t deserve to this fate; to remember the horrors of those five years. He wondered if anyone had taken these kids seriously at the orphanage. Then again, Madison hadn’t been quiet about how mean some of their caretakers were. He doubted it.

The thing about Letitia, the thing that made her so special, was that of all the kids they had raised together, Letitia was _his._ She took to his side, not quite trusting Jim or Slade. Too many adults had wronged her for her to trust grown-ups. So she went to Jason. Because Jason understood bad parents and terrible foster parents. He understood why the system was so terrible. She was his, and he was hers. Just like Carrie and Nell, though Dick had raised Carrie and Nell first. And Cass and Steph helped. Letitia was solely his charge.

“You were so good, sweetheart,” he whispered into her hair as she broke down. Body silently shaking. “So, so good. I’m so proud. But you can rest now. No one is going to die if I can help it.”

Her fingers dug deeper into his shirt.

“Helena?”

Jason shook his head, even though Letitia couldn’t see it. “She doesn’t remember. I don’t know if those memories will come back, but she doesn’t remember. Mar’i doesn’t either.”

Letitia let out a shaky breath. “Good.”

Jason was reminded of his conversation with Rose the second night back. Rose was right. None of them should have to bear those memories. But at the same time, Jason was relieved they did. Perhaps it was because he was Batman. He could plan. Make contingencies. Find ways to prepare in the future. A few minutes later and the other heroes and people that had been in Gotham arrived. Jim came first, with Barbara. Jason hadn’t checked on the man yet, though Steph had assured him the man was alright. Just enjoying time with his daughter.

Babs and the Birds of Prey had been some of the first to go. Selina was supposed to have been with them, but had gone into labor. Steph had been the one to check up on her when the anti-life equation struck. But Babs, Kate, Cullen, Zinda, Charlie, Helena B., Harper, Dawn, Hank; they had all died in the first wave. They hadn’t stood a chance.

Following them were those people from the Manor (and those who had stayed the night). The survivors instantly flocked to the children, cuddling and hugging them. Madison was the first to approach Dick.

“I’m glad you’re alive again,” she told him brightly. “Jay-Jay was really sad when you died.”

And then she hugged him. Dick, reluctantly, hugged the little girl back. He looked to Jason for help, but Jason just ducked his head into Letitia’s hair, hiding his laughter. It was rare to see Dick so lost, especially with a hug.

Then, to complete their group, the Marvel family arrived in the Jungle. Jason had never felt so relieved in his life, and he had survived the end of the world. They spent hours in the Jungle, moving and playing among the Green. Harley, who had not remembered, watched in awe as heroes and villains alike got along. For a few, identities were tossed aside in favor of relationships that had formed. Those five years had seen these kids grow too quickly. Many could kill a man with their bare hands. But here, in the Green, they could be kids once more.

\---------------------------------------

It was Diana’s idea, oddly enough. As much as the large Justice League meeting was appreciated, there were core members of both generations. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian, Flash, Lantern, Aquaman, Captain Marvel, and two Arrows.

So that was what this meeting was. A meeting of equals.

“So, I suppose we should start with introductions,” Superman of the first Justice League began. “Clark Kent. Superman.”

“Conner Kent. Superman.”

“Diana Prince. Wonder Woman.”

“Donna Troy. Wonder Woman.”

“Oliver Queen. Green Arrow.”

“Roy Harper. Red Arrow.”

“Dinah Lance. Black Canary.”

“Emiko Queen. Arrowette.”

“Hal Jordan. Green Lantern.”

“Kyle Rayner. White Lantern.”

“Barry Allen. The Flash.”

“Wallace West. The Flash.”

“Arthur Curry. Aquaman.”

“Kaldur’ahm. Aquaman.”

“J’onn J’onzz. Martian Manhunter.”

“M’gann M’orzz. Miss Martian.”

“Billy Batson. Captain Marvel.”

“Mary Batson. Captain Marvel.”

“Bruce Wayne. Batman.”

“Jason Todd-Wayne. Batman.”

“Well, this is definitely one for the history books,” Clark chuckled. “To different Justice Leagues in one place. What will the Universe think up next?”

“A vacation,” Roy grumbled under his breath. “A long, overdo, vacation.”

“To begin, perhaps we should explain why a new Justice League was necessary,” Dinah turned to look at the second era, a fond smile on her face. “And why the three of us didn’t make the cut.”

Sitting around the table, Jason looked first to Conner. Then to Donna. Then to the others. Roy would always be his best friend, would always hold the closest position to brother in Jason’s heart. Just as Kori would always be his sister. But Conner and Donna were the next best thing. Donna, Connor, and Jason had been the ones to form this team shortly after Diana took her place as Queen and Donna took her place.

“Many of you made it to the fourth wave,” Jason looked around the room at everyone present. “But as you can imagine, super-powered beings forced to commit murder caused more than a few fair shares of death.”

Diana made a sound from beside Clark. Almost like a keen.

“By the time the aftermath was cleared, we realized we needed to find a place of sanctuary. So when Nubia came to us with word of Themyscira, we relocated, and Diana took her place as Queen. It was as the diseases were just starting that we realized Diana being Queen wasn’t going to be enough to assure the survivors. Our first act was to make Donna the new Wonder Woman. We had discussed Nubia, but it was decided that Donna had a far better connection to Man’s World. It was shortly after that, shortly after the diseases took place, that we realized we needed a Justice League.”

“Oliver got sick,” Donna nodded her head to the man. “And with Dinah made a Green Lantern in the place of Hal Jordan’s death, her time was divided by caring for her husband and son, and taking her turn with holding up the barrier. And as Queen, Diana could not possibly be part of the Justice League and maintain peace through the Justice League. So we brought the heroes together and discussed a plan of action.”

“Each of us was chosen because we had ties to a core member of the Justice League,” Conner continued. “Not only had we taken the spots of our mentors, but we were already a symbol of peace among the children. And it had already been agreed that the children were our top priority. In fact, when the argument first arose as to who should be on the new Justice League, Damian Wayne gave the strongest argument as to why children _should not_ be part of the new order. He eventually boiled it down to a cause of chaos and the future need for those children to take over for the current holder of the alias. But it was Carrie Kelley who made the suggestion that we base our new Justice League founders of the original founders.”

“May I ask the significance of Carrie Kelley?” Hal raised his hand.

The new Justice League looked to Jason, who was smiling fondly. “She was our first Robin.”

The room got quiet.

“After the…death of Tim Drake,” Jason began, eyes shut as he reminisced, “Damian swore off the mantle of Robin, believing himself unworthy. But with Dick running practically solo in Gotham, it was clear he needed a Robin. A role Steph, Cass, and myself could not fill. Carrie Kelley decided, much like Tim had for Bruce, that if Batman needed a Robin, then she would be that Robin. Cass and I had returned to Blüdhaven to try and bring the children to the Jungle, so Steph began to train Carrie alongside Dick. Shortly after Carrie became Robin, Nell Little became Batgirl. The two stuck to Dick’s side as Batgirl and Robin until Athanasia came into the picture. Carrie became Flamebird, believing that Athanasia would find a purpose, who yearned for death after the torture she received at the hands of her grandfather. When Helena was old enough, the plan was to pass Robin on to her, but Carrie’s prediction was true. Carrie was Dick’s Robin for his two years as Batman, and was my Robin for my first year. Nell remained my Batgirl, but no matter the mantle, those girls made me proud every day.”

Jason locked eyes with Bruce.

“Batman will always need a Robin. No matter who claims the name. Without a Robin, there is a darkness that will overtake anyone who dares claim the name Batman.”

“Well, that was…deeper than I thought,” Hal muttered. “You can continue.”

Roy snorted, getting a jab from Emiko.

“Shortly after this argument was made, we came to a second agreement that the new Justice League be made of younger members such as ourselves,” Kaldur’ahm ignored the bickering of the two arrows. “Having each of you as our mentors was part of the decision, but it was not the deciding factor. After all, most of us had already claimed your aliases as each of you passed on. We allowed heroes, villains, and civilians to make a vote as to what we should do. The vote fell in Carrie’s favor, and we became the Justice League.”

That was…a lot to take in. The pictures Jimmy had taken had circulated amongst the group, they had seen how each of these children had grown. Roy and Emiko were obviously the oldest members here, and wasn’t that horrifying because Roy might have been 25 when this started, but he was still young, and had been temporarily out of the hero game when this began. And yet this group of children had banded together to become their own team without the guidance of their mentors.

“Are there any other child superheroes we should keep an eye out for?” Barry questioned warily. “Because I just discovered Iris was pregnant, and we’re fearing a speedster. Maybe two if Bart was corrected.”

“Yes.” Curt and straight to the point, Jason wasn’t jumping over any conversations this time. Much like his mentor. “I already mentioned that Helena had started training, but we all insisted that every child in our care go through basic survival training. However, Lara Lane Kent was in training to be Supergirl. Milagro Reyes inherited a Green Lantern Ring from Guy Gardner, and she proved to be a firecracker of creativity. Lucy Quinzel became Red Hood, and believe me, she made that alias her own just to spite her father and prove me wrong. Mar’i Grayson took on the alias of Nightstar, and eventually joined Jon and Damian’s new Titans.”

“That formed long before the Justice League,” Conner offered to the confused faces of the first Justice League. “Jon got tired of watching Damian mop around over Tim’s death and did something about it. Damian claimed the alias Renegade, a Bat-themed vigilante as he refused to touch Batman. The Titans gave Damian a purpose again, much like Attie needed Robin.”

“And do you think these Titans will be active again?” Arthur asked.

“Without a doubt,” Wallace nodded. “If we were a beacon of hope, consider Damian and Jon’s Titian’s to be the future. Many of the kids in our care didn’t trust adults at first, and the Titans were the voice that led them to their eventual survival.”

“They were friends, first and foremost,” Emiko added. “Jon made the new Titans to help Damian, but the two of them created a strong bond with each of their teammates. Not having Mar’i remember will leave a gap they’ll need to work around, but they’re amazing kids. They’ll manage.”

“Speaking of young Titans, Ollie, will you be talking to Michelle Lawton about training Zoe?”

“That’s the plan,” Oliver nodded to Jason. “Kid had spunk, but I’ll be taking Dinah with me. Her mom is the overprotective type, and not like Cissie’s mom.”

Jason nodded. “I believe Damian, Jon, Attie, and Lucy have been discussing restarting their Titans team. They want Kori to act as their trainer because she spent a lot of time with them, and she knows their strengths and weaknesses. It might also be because of Mar’i, but I believe they want Tim, Kon, Cassie, and Bart to work alongside them.”

“Jon’s already approached me about it,” Conner lamented. “Tim and Cassie are okay with it, but I haven’t flagged down Bart long enough to ask.”

“Their guardians are still alive,” Donna pull the two boys from their heads and motioned to the first Justice League. “We will be getting parent or guardian permission first.”

“Of course.”

“Naturally.”

Donna cocked an amused brow at the two before fully turning back to the first Justice League.

“This will take some getting used to,” Clark muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. “So, on our side, we wanted to discuss coping. As we’d prefer not to have another Sanctuary incident,” Jason shot Bruce a fiery look, and Bruce glanced back. They had a three-hour long fight earlier over this, “we’re still trying to figure out potential therapy.”

“We had a system on Themyscira,” Roy pipped up. “As soon as we were sure the anti-life equation was gone, we began our own form of therapy. We knew we would need it if we wanted to survive the aftermath.”

“That was part of Nightwing, Steph’s, broadcast,” Mary beamed brightly. “Find each other. We had groups on Themyscira, sort of like group therapy. The Justice League worked together to give each other therapy, and then every week, we had small group meeting to help people talk about problems. As we built trust in our groups, we found we could gradually go to each other to talk about things. I’ve already gotten phone calls and letters from friends in my group.”

“We even added rules so that the more stubborn members of the therapy would find it safe to talk,” M’gann chirped. “They were only necessary for a few people, but after what we went through, it became necessary to talk and acknowledge what happened.”

“Well…I guess that part is settled too…” Clark rubbed the back of his neck. “Anything else?”

The new Justice League shared glances.

“Not at the moment.”

Even Diana was surprised by this declaration. It was clear there was something else in discussion, but none of them had confronted her on the subject. Which was unusual. Perhaps Silver knew.

\--------------------------------------

With Auntie Pam’s permission, they met in the Jungle. It was their first meeting as a team since the timeline had been reset. The new Justice League had stressed the importance that the children meet, and now they were here once more. Conner Kent, Cassie Sandsmark, Cissie King-Jones, Bart Allen, Tim Drake, and Greta Hayes were all watching over the action.

Damian, Jon, and Lucy stood proudly in front of their group of heroes. They had stayed in touch, planning, and whispering behind their parents’ and guardians’ backs for this moment. Of course, it was a fool’s hope for Damian to believe he had gotten anything past Jason. Even if it had worked in their favor.

“It’s really good to see everyone again,” Jon greeted their friends with his smile. A smile that had dulled over the years. “Has everyone been holding up alright?”

Various nods made the Super sag with relief. Damian didn’t seem to think anyone was lying either. Which was a relief.

“Then I suppose we should officially begin our first new Titans meeting of this timeline,” Jon nudged his best friend. “Anything we should know?”

“Nothing concrete,” Damian shot a look to Kon-El, who seemed undisturbed by the blatant call out. “But I think we all have an idea of what to look out for.”

Their teammates nodded.

“Then I suppose we should move on to what we’ve been discussing,” Jon shrugged. “Training.”

“Auntie Pam has vetoed training in the Green, for obvious reasons,” Lucy motioned about her. “But we’re already looking for alternatives.”

“And why is training necessary?” Iris West II, or Irey as her friends called her, frowned at the three. “No offense, but we just survived the apocalypse.”

“A couple reasons,” Damian voiced with a surprising amount of patience (at least for Bart, Cissie, and Tim). “One; we’ve all been through into younger, healthier bodies. We’ve gotten used to our bodies being constantly weighed upon, and though I have no doubt you and Jay are more than capable of adjusting quickly, the rest of us aren’t speedsters who can turn a minute into a year.”

“And the second reason?” Lyta Milton, daughter of Circe and Ares, asked.

“Fighting to survive and fighting to protect are two different things,” Damian stated. “Batman and I have been training with our family so that we can both remember the difference between the two. The training will be for us to train our current bodies and retrain our minds so that we don’t hurt someone beyond what is necessary.”

Lyta hummed, satisfied with this answer.

“And what of our aliases?” Milagro Reyes added. “I mean, I certainly won’t be going back into the field anytime soon without a Lantern Ring. Though I appreciate you calling me here.”

“You’re one of us, Millie,” Lucy turned to the girl in disbelief. “Ring or not, of course we want you here. But I don think she’s right, Dami. Jay-Jay and I haven’t talked about what we’re going to do about Red Hood. And if you stay as Robin, then that leaves Carrie without an alias.”

“Father and I are already working on reconstruction my Renegade suit,” Damian brushed off. “Carrie will need more training to keep up with Father’s Batman, but we’ve agreed to let Carrie take my place once her training is complete. Likewise with Steph. She’ll be Batgirl until Nell is ready. As for Red Hood, that is still in discussion, and something solely between Donna, Jason, and Kon-El. I believe they intend to discuss with you in the future.”

Lucy cast a look to Kon, getting a nod of confirmation.

“As for everyone else, we can discuss implementing our aliases once we get a better grasp of our training,” Damian concluded. “For now, we’ll ask that everyone stay in touch and keep an eye out for a potential place to train and gather.”

With a final nod from their friends, the group let themselves relax and talk about their lives, a sort of group therapy as had been described at the JL meeting. Donna had gone with Dick to see the Titans, all her old friends and family. Jason had vanished, and any time someone questioned it, the efforts were shot down. And then the founding members of the Young Justice were together, watching the youngers.

“Why Renegade?” Cissie asked the group under hushed whispers.

“Because there were a lot of Bird themed heroes already,” Cassie shrugged nonchalantly. “It was originally recommended Damian try to become Red Robin, but after Tim’s death, Damian felt like that was an insult to his memory. Plus, Batboy and Batlad were terrible names. Renegade was an old alias Dick had used, so Damian went with that.”

“Technically speaking, Carrie wasn’t even Robin when the timeline reset,” Greta added. “She had adopted the alias of Flamebird so that Attie could find a purpose. But Attie is currently eight years old, so she decided to wait till she was older to reclaim the alias.”

“Isn’t she mentally old enough?” Bart asked.

“Yeah, but Attie hit a massive growth-spurt when she turned 11, and she’s used to a stronger, taller body,” Kon chuckled. “So we need to let her adjust to being this small. She may wait till that growth-spurt, but you never know with her.”

Tim remained silent, watching Damian and Attie, occasionally glancing to Carrie, Nell, and Lucy. It was clear that Damian and Lucy were close, and not in the sense of siblings or friends. But it was odd, seeing Damian matured. Especially over his death. Perhaps Bruce had been the start of the change in Damian, but Tim had been the tipping point. And just looking at Attie…

She was too much like him for her own good, and Tim vowed to make sure she knew how much she was loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needs help:
> 
> So I'm trying to find the children of DC characters. Like how Damian is Bruce's son. Jon is Clark and Lois' son. Lian Harper is the daughter of Roy Harper. So far, my research has been lacking. I know these kids exist, but I have seen not been able to find much on them.
> 
> Could you guys please tell me about DC children? Any mutliverse, any hero, and even villain kids. Please help?


	6. The Death of Superman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Read the title

Bruce sat beside Clark and Diana, watching as their kids ran about the farm of Pa and Ma Kent’s home. It had been…painful to learn that Pa Kent had died in the first wave, and even more tragic to learn that Ma Kent had died in the final wave before they discovered the cure. Bruce dying in the first wave to save as many people as possible was understandable. But what the two friends of the Amazon couldn’t figure out was how Clark had died.

Jason, Donna, and Conner were keeping the other occupied, and Selina had taken Lois and Silver for a girl’s day to celebrate. This left little Helena in Bruce’s arms as Diana prepared herself for the story of how Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman, died.

“There were so few of us unaffected,” Diana whispered. “The anger. The rage. The desire to kill. I was not exempt. And neither were you, Clark.”

Clark bulked. Bruce narrowed his eyes. It was…a possibility that Clark would go rouge. One Bruce had prepared for. But to hear that it happened.

“Let me rephrase that,” Diana chuckled, though it sounded pained. “I realized that the way we discussed this, it made it sound like we were doing an all-out slaughter. But in reality, that wasn’t what it was. Jason later came to us with the theory that the Anti-Life equation managed to mess with our minds on the surface, much like Pam’s pollen or Scarecrow’s toxin. Or the Lazarus Pit. It played on our emotions, strengthening them and forcing them. It’s why we believe Dick and Jason were exempt. Dick has always been able to play his emotions, and Jason spent his time in Blüdhaven controlling the Pit and his emotions so he could protect the children. But many of us were strung high, even the best of us let our emotions be played with. But what ultimately killed Clark was Vandal Savage.”

\---------------------------------

**The End of the Third Wave**

“STOP!”

Everyone froze in shock, many caught mid-battle as they looked to where Darla Dudley was pointing. There were tears in her eyes as she trembled, pointing to people in the distance. Everyone followed their gazes, but those with enhanced sight froze.

“No,” Clark sucked in a breath. Beside him, Mary Batson let out a guttural cry. “No. It-it can’t be.”

But it was.

The living froze as Slade Wilson, Jason Todd, and Lucy Quinzel came out of the rubble. A limp Athanasia and Damian were cradled to Slade’s chest, and Jason carried Dick’s body in his arms. There was a scar over his left eye, glaring at the world as it bled red, but Jason didn’t seem to care, or notice it’s presence. Silver could be heard making a cry of agony, and little Helena let out a wail as Selina pulled her daughter’s face to her chest, but neither woman could look away from the face of the boy that had become their son.

Jason collapsed to his knees mere feet away from them group of people, body hunching in agony. Lucy fell with him, burying her face in his side. And Jason screamed. A true cry of pure grief that none of them had the chance to experience yet. And for that moment, the world was silent as they mourned the loss of Batman. Of Dick Grayson.

Then laughter.

“So Ra’s finally tried to do it. How stupidly mundane? Humans are so easy to manipulate?”

Clark had Savage by his neck, eyes gleaming with the intent to kill, in mere seconds. “What have you done, Savage?”

“Oh, Superman. I think the real question is what have all of you done?”

Clark faltered, turning around to see their battlefield. Bodies littered the ground.

“It was quite simple. You were all so ready to kill each other, to do whatever it took to survive. All I needed to do was given everyone the nudge in the right direction. Ra’s al Ghul was particularly easy, and his plan might have worked had Red Hood and Batman not gotten involved. As for the rest of you, I knew it was only a matter of time before you killed each other. Then I would claim the survivors for my own purpose.”

The fury was back, but Clark had made a fatal mistake in that moment. He dropped his guard. Before Clark had even fully turned around to lash out at Savage, the immortal being had taken a simple stone of kryptonite he had taken from the corpse of Lex Luthor, and he plunged it into Superman’s heart. Jon cried out, but Billy Batson got to Savage first.

Right before everyone’s eyes, Billy plunged his fist into Savages chest and yanked out his heart, then he crushed it in his hand. The immortal Vandal Savage met his end that day, as had Ra’s al Ghul. But Clark Kent and Dick Grayson lost their lives in the process.

And then, looking between two dead heroes she had come to love, Darla Dudley screamed.

Now, the thing about this particular scream was that it was laced with magic. Darla, a heart of pure gold and love, saw the world in such light, had just witnessed a mass slaughter of friends and family by the hands of friends and family. But rather than be twisted and put down by this, Darla Dudley defied the anti-life equation with her scream. The magic that burst forth from her cleansed the Earth from the virus that forced the world to kill each other. It was a breath of fresh air, and in that moment, after nearly four years of fighting the anti-life equation, the world mourned the loss of those they held dear.

The world would never know this. No. That wasn’t true. After all, Jason Todd was Batman now, and though he could pass his explanation off as a theory, he knew it to be the truth. But the people needed peace, so he told them enough.

“You’re sure this will work?” Jason asked her.

“Yes. It has worked before and it will work now.”

Jason gave her a skeptical look. “And if someone resets the timeline?”

“They will be brought back to life, but if they are to die, my seal will still be there. There will be no bringing them back.”

Jason let out a sigh. “I just want this to be over.”

“You and me both. Now go, Jason. I will finish here. You have done your part.”

Jason stood, glancing down once more at the body of Vandal Savage. It was a relief to know that Savage would not be coming back. He had been a thorn since this whole thing started. And Ra’s being gone was a greater relief.

Jason pulled the cowl back over his face. It was time for a new Batman. He couldn’t think of a better Superman to be at his side, either.

“Do you always talk to yourself?” Conner questioned as Jason rejoined the group.

“Only when I’m near the sweet relief of Death.”

\----------------------------

“Savage had figured out what the anti-life equation was doing, if that was what it was doing,” Diana explained bitterly, ending her tale of how her best friend had fallen. “I was…not in the best place after that. So when Nubia came to me with news of Themyscira, we gathered the survivors and took them there while I became Queen. It was more to establish order than to dictate, but the loss of so many, and then the strike of the diseases. It was more than I thought I could bare. But Jason, my twin, and Nubia were there. And Donna took to Wonder Woman to relieve me my role. Even Cassie took to Themyscira while Conner became Superman. We healed, and we survived.”

Clark watched his son and his sort-of-son laugh with the Bats and Wonders. His daughter was on the way. How old was Lara when he was murdered? How hard did his death hit Lois, Jon, and Conner? The glance the three kept shooting him made sense now.

“Kori wasn’t in your story,” Bruce voiced. “When Dick died.”

Diana shook her head. “Kori was with the children. She, too, remained unaffected by the anti-life equation. In fact, Dick and Kori had attempted to move the children to safety while Jason was searching for Damian and Athanasia. Rose was affected but Slade was not, and Lucy had befriended Damian and snuck away to find him.”

“I see,” Bruce glanced down to his giggling daughter, who had taken to playing with a button on Bruce’s shirt.

“Neither will tell you what happened,” Diana said sharply. “That is Jason’s story for him to tell on his own time. And I advise you not to pressure any of them.”

Bruce hadn’t taken his eyes off Helena, moving his fingers in her line of sight. He knew Selina who prefer him to get the pacifier, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment to get the baby bag. He could be content to let his daughter drool on his fingers. They were clean. He made sure of it.

Interrogation wasn’t his intention for the knowledge that Silver, Slade, and Lucy knew what happened between Ra’s, Jason, and Dick. He would admit to being jealous of both Silver and Slade for the relationship they had with his son, though he would only admit it to Diana, Clark, Selina, and Alfred.

He wanted to know because whatever had happened to Dick had been traumatizing enough to change Jason. It left him wondering how it changed Slade and Lucy. From what Bruce had gathered already, the anti-life equation had been brutal. People he had known, thought he knew, had faced a darkness that was impossible to fathom, and they came out having already begun to heal.

And then they were sent back in time.

“Bruce?”

Bruce grit his teeth, pulling his daughter closer to his chest. “Where does this end? When does this fight stop?”

Diana shut her eyes, looking up to the sky. “It doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean we stop fighting. Never. If there was anything we learned while we survived, it was that there was _always_ something to fight for.”

In the distance, the kids shrieked with laughter as Dick found the garden hose and attacked the others with it. They were kids who had been through such a great trauma, and yet here they were, playing and laughing together as if the world hadn’t ended for half of them.

This was…definitely something to fight for.

\----------------------

“I’m definitely not Batman anymore,” Jason shrugged nonchalantly. “And Red Hood should never have been mine to begin with.”

Lucy stared at Jason with wide eyes. She knew it had been in discussion, but to hear Jason just _give_ her the role of Red Hood like this. When they had first met, Jason had taken one look at Lucy and taken her under his wing…no questions asked. Taking Red Hood had been her relief. Her way of proving she wasn’t her parents. It was something he saw in her. Something he knew she _needed._ So for him to just be _giving_ it back to her…

“Then what will you do?”

“Same as Donna and Kon. Move on. Become someone new.”

“So it’s true, then. You guys are going under cover?”

Jason cocked a brow but didn’t confirm or deny anything. Lucy couldn’t help but giggle at the expression. No matter who Jason would become, he would always be Batman. To her, at least.

“What are you guys going to call yourselves, then?”

Jason shrugged. “I’ve been leaning towards Knight, but I haven’t decided yet.”

Then, just as he had all those years ago, he handed Lucy his helmet. It was in far better condition than when he gave it to her in their original timeline. In fact, it was still working. Definitely an improvement. Lucy found herself marveling the helmet, getting a chuckle from Jason, her mentor.

“Do let any of these current heroes talk you down, okay? You have just as much right to fight alongside them as any of them do. You might even be better.”

Coming from Jason, that meant the world. And Lucy had no problem letting him know by flinging herself into his arms as he pulled her close.

“Love you, Jay-Jay.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

The moment was only interrupted by shouting from a few doors down the hallway. Jason had pulled Lucy from the other kids who were occupying one of the dens in the manor that had been converted into a playroom reminicesnt of the children’s time in Blüdhaven with Jason, Cass, and Papa Jim (later joined by Rose, Slade, and the Suicide Squad). With a role of his eyes, Jason set Lucy down with a kiss to her forehead before going to stop whatever fight had broken out.

“Told you.”

Lucy shrugged as she turned to Damian, accompanied by Attie. The two siblings had been practically joined at the hip, just as they had been during those five years, but the reason for such a connection always made Lucy sad to think about.

“Yeah. But I guess that means Jay-Jay is going away.”

Damian made a face. A face Lucy recognized all too well. “I’d prefer to go with them.”

“But Jay-Jay said no.”

“But Jason said no,” Damian grumbled in agreement. “I understand _why,_ but that doesn’t mean I like it.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “None of us do. I was _there_. I saw it happen. But you know Jay-Jay won’t find peace until he knows his family is safe. Even if that means forsaking Batman.”

“He can do it,” Attie stated firmly, startling the two. “I know he can. Jay-Jay is strong and smart. And he’ll pull through this. Then he’ll come home and we can be a family.”

To anyone who didn’t know that the eight year old was actually thirteen mentally, this would have seemed liked childish rambling. But Damian and Lucy knew. And they knew how big a step this was for Attie to have such faith. Especially in family.

“Won’t your dad be mad?”

Damian furrowed his brow. “I will personally fight him myself if he tries to kick Jason from this family. Jason doesn’t exactly have a choice in this matter, and I won’t let his destiny get in the way of him coming home.”

“Kon or Donna would adopt him anyways,” Attie huffed, puffing her cheeks as she did when she was agitated. “Or Auntie Diana. Or Mama Cat. Or Mama Lois. Or Mama Sil. Or-”

“Okay, okay,” Lucy ruffled Attie’s hair with a giggle, making the younger stick her tongue out at Lucy. “We get it. Jay-Jay has a lot of moms.”

“The kids would cause a revolt.”

Attie and Lucy whipped their heads to Damian. The boy just shrugged and went to go find Titus and Alfred the cat. If those kids revolted, that was his father’s problem, not his.

Meanwhile, Bruce, who had been listening, ran a hand over his face. Whatever happened to cause Dick to die was slowly becoming an enigma wrapped in an impossibility. So it was supposedly Jason’s destiny to kill Ra’s al Ghul. That in itself was hard to wrap his head around. And now he was getting word that his son intended to…what? Disappear? Bruce was liking this less and less.

What Bruce knew was that something happened between Ra’s al Ghul and Jason. Dick tried to interfere and Ra’s killed Dick. Slade Wilson and Lucy Quinzel were both present for whatever happened. Damian and Athanasia were also present but unconscious. Whatever happened led Mara al Ghul to go insane and she murdered Talia al Ghul. After the events, Billy Batson murdered Vandal Savage after Savage murdered Clark Kent. Jason Todd told Silver St. Cloud everything in his moment of grief but never told anyone else.

And Bruce still had no idea _what happened._

Whatever it was, one thing was clear. His son had been broken in a way that was almost reminiscent of the time when Bruce lost his parents, and even lost Jason too. The change was horrific, and Bruce would never wish this burden on anyone. Especially not his own son.

“Being nosy, Bat?”

Bruce sighed. “You know me, Cat.”

Selina offered a soft smile to Bruce as she moved to his side. Bruce lifted his arm so that Selina could come settle in his lap. The thirty seven years fighting the endless horde may have been longer than the five years of survival, but Diana had confessed it felt far worse than anything the horde could have thrown at them. Bruce had been clingy when he came back from the horde, he could let her be clingy now.

“Marry me, Bat.”

“I thought we eloped?”

It was meant to be teasing, but the joke fell flat as he looked into Selina’s eyes. Whatever brought this on was hurting Selina.

“Anytime,” Bruce corrected himself. “Anywhere. Any place. Just say it and we’ll get married.”

Selina curled into Bruce’s chest, head tucked under his chin. She was shaking.

“Marry me, now?”

“Yes.”

Neither dared to move, afraid the spell would be broken and they would both wake up elsewhere. But Bruce meant every word. He would marry her wherever and whenever she liked. He had come to that conclusion the first time. He didn’t deserve her, but he loved her, and that was enough for both of them.

“Diana could marry us.”

“Then we’ll call her. Get the family here as witnesses. Clark and Lois too.”

They were married in the hour. It made the news the next day, courtesy of Lois Lane so that questions wouldn’t be asked. The Waynes spent the entire time locked in the Manor for the first couple days, just basking in the presence of each other (along with all of the small children they had acquired).

“ _The Kyle-Wayne wedding is by far the best wedding I have attended in the last five years.”_

_~Lois Lane Kent; Daily Planet_


	7. To Build a Relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The love between Jason and Rose wasn't instant. In fact....they really, really, hated each other.

“So, do we go? Or do we wait?”

Jason opened his eyes, surveying the people around him. They had been meeting in secret, their little rag-tag crew. Just them. The second Justice League along with their honorary members had opted to gather at random times where they knew they would be unbothered. There were things that needed to be dealt with, secrets that they carried.

Secrets that put people at risk.

“Ra’s al Ghul may not be an easy target to track down,” Slade stated clearly. “And I doubt Savage will be any better.”

“Waller won’t be any better to convince,” Rose added, her hand squeezing Jason’s. “Her task force was taken from her once in this timeline. We might be able to cut a deal, but the price will be high.”

Rose and Slade. It was still a marvel to see them as allies, let alone as the love of his life and a potential father figure. It hadn’t been by choice that he got along with the two, but it was worth it.

He still remembered…

\---------------------------------------

**Four and a Half-Years Ago**

“And then I jumped down from the tree!”

Jason chuckled as he bandaged Madison’s skinned knee. She and some of the other kids had been playing in the yard and, of course, one of them decided to climb the only tree in the yard. Despite the crying Madison had been doing earlier, she seemed extremely pleased with herself now. When Jason and Cass had first come to Blüdhaven to take over for Dick, an orphanage had been the last place either thought they would end up. But Letitia and Gareth had been searching the streets for supplies, basically abandoned by their caregivers. Jim had insisted they help. And the orphanage became their home-base.

“Jay-Jay?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s that?”

Jason whipped around, guns ready as his gaze landed on the mirror. It shimmered before a hand came out and Madison screamed. Gun pointed, Jason nearly fired before-

“Wait! Wait! I come in peace!”

Jason faltered as Evan McCulloch stumbled from the mirror. He gave Jason a sheepish smile before sinking down on the floor.

“I realize you have no reason too, but could I have some water. Waller has me searching no-stop.”

Much to Jason’s protest, Madison hopped down from the little medical bed and moved to the sink where there were a few plastic-disposable cups.

“Here you go!”

“Thanks, princess. Ah, what did we do here?”

“I jumped out of a tree!”

Jason’s eye twitched, and he cast a subtle glance to where Cass was watching with calculating eyes. With a shake of her head, Jason re-holstered his gun. Evan seemed to slouch in relief as the weapon was put away, much to Jason’s annoyance.

“Madison, why don’t you go find Jim, okay? I need to talk with our new friend.”

Evan tensed but Madison nodded and limp-skipped from the room. Jason couldn’t help but smile after her.

“She’s a good kid.”

“Yeah?” Evan asked shakily.

“They all are,” Jason sucked in a breath to look Evan dead in the eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Waller. She’s got me looking for people to…recruit. She thinks something else is coming.”

Jason’s hand twitched. “There is.”

It was a miracle Tim survived, especially the way he did. Jason owed Greta Hayes his brother’s life, and his own. If the Ghost Woman had not been hovering in front of Tim and the Titans, blocking the screen with her ghost body, the entire group would have dropped dead. As it stood, Beast Boy and Raven had been part of the casualties. But with Greta acting as a buffer, Tim was using what remained of the internet to track what the anti-life equation was doing.

And something was coming.

Jason turned to Cass, hearing a squeak from Evan as he finally saw her.

“Get some rest? Then we’ll talk.”

Evan gave a shaky nod as the siblings left the room. Jason didn’t like that Waller was “recruiting” and he split with Cass t get a message back to his brothers and the girls that were still alive. Which basically consisted of Cass, Steph, and Selina. Which was…not great.

He was trying not to think about it.

\----------------------------------

Evan McCulloch, a.k.a. Mirror Master, returned to them late at night with the entire Suicide Squad. Jim might as well have thrown a cow, literally and figuratively. It would have been amusing if it wasn’t for the fact that Jason feared for the lives of those kids.

“No.”

Waller locked eyes with Cass but instantly shifted her gaze to Jason. Good. Cass was a person to be feared.

“We’ve come to make a deal.”

“And I’m fairly certain you aren’t deaf,” Jason shot back. “My sister said no.”

“You think you can protect these kids from what’s coming?”

“Better than you. Just look at you little rag-tag team. You’ve worked them to the bone. At the rate they’re going, they’ll be dead before whatever comes decides to strike.”

“This isn’t time for games. The fate of the world depends on us acting.”

Jason knew he could have gone back and forth with Waller. He’d eventually slip up, give her an opening, and she’d drop some argument that would real him in. Cass would go with him, if only to keep him safe and alive. They’d be shells of themselves under Waller’s orders, just like the Suicide Squad.

“I wonder, Mandy, can I call you Mandy?”

“No.”

“Tell, me, Mandy, how do those bombs work? I mean, I got the whole schtick back when I was in Belle Reve, but how do they work, exactly?”

Jim gave Jason a questioning look, as did most of the squad.

“You’ve got them on quite the impressive timer. They get caught; you blow them up. They go AWOL; you blow them up. They try to take the bomb out; you blow them up. Pretty interesting.”

In a smooth, quick motion, Jason had grabbed Slade and slammed his head down on the table. Waller watched in wide-eyed horror as several people moved closer. Rose was quickest, but Cass reacted just as quickly, keeping everyone back.

“NO!” Rose begged. “Please. Please don’t!”

Jason paid her no mind as he took out the knife he kept on hand and began to cut into Slade’s neck, right where he knew the bomb would be. Rose was still begging as the others watched in horror.

“Please! Please! I’ll do anything!”

Jason then proceeded to yank out the bomb. Of course, just as Jason knew it would, nothing happened.

“Really Waller,” Jason released Slade’s head, letting the man stager back towards his daughter. “Explosives are my forte. The next time you try to pull a bluff, you should really make sure that everyone in the room is an idiot.”

“What did you do?” Floyd Lawton demanded.

“Simple. The bombs had to be wired in a way that they would pick up certain cues as to whether or not each of you was following instructions. No internet means those instructions are pretty much null and void.”

In that moment, Jason could see Waller experience pure fear as every member of the Suicide Squad turned to her. Several members looked as if they were going to kill Waller then and there, but the moment was quickly interrupted.

“Jay-Jay?”

Jason turned to see Madison in the door again, clutching a stuffed kitty to her chest. Evan offered a slight wave.

“Hey, what you doing up?”

Several members of the Suicide Squad bulked at the sudden shift in Jason. He crouched before her, brushing her lose hair from her face.

“Nightmare.”

“Yeah?” a nod from the girl. “Okay. Want me to read with you till you fall asleep?”

Another nod and Jason lifted Madison onto his hip, carrying him back to the bedroom.

\-----------------------------

As one would imagine, Rose decided then and there that she didn’t like Jason. Slade certainly respected Jason, but Rose had no such sentiment.

The kids began to laugh as Jason resurfaced from the pool. It had been agreed, for the sake of the kids, that there would be no killing of each other. However, that didn’t mean Rose Wilson hadn’t found _other_ ways to mess with Jason after his stunt.

“Gee,” Jason grumbled as Slade, kindly, pulled him from the water. “You’d think I did kill you.”

“Rose has…lost a lot in life,” Slade sighed as Jason moved to grab a towel. “Her mother. Her brothers. She used to be part of the Titans, once. But in her mind, I’m all she has left. When you slammed my head down on the table, Rose got a glance of the future, but only enough to see you hand slide into my neck. As you can imagine, she feared the worst.”

“Hence the begging,” Jason muttered. “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t just charge in gun’s blazing unless I deem it necessary. Cass and I were communicating the entire time Waller and I bickered. If I was wrong, Cass would have stopped me.”

“And you chose me because of my healing factor,” Slade grinned. “Interesting for the Red Hood.”

Jason shrugged. “I promised I wouldn’t.”

Slade didn’t press.

“He’s…hurt,” Cass told Rose.

Cass and Rose had actually done the exact opposite of Jason and Rose. While the latter hated each other, Cass and Rose became close friends. Shockingly close.

“Aren’t we all,” Rose rolled her eyes.

“Jason was…the only one there…when Batman died.”

Rose went positively stiff.

“He blames himself. His fault. In his mind. Kids…give him purpose. He would not hurt if not necessary.”

“So you think I should give him a chance?”

“Can’t hurt. Batman gave me chance. Jason…was not given that chance. He will be…broken…long time.”

“I’ll think about it.”

\---------------------------

The two conversations led to a sort of…civil stalemate between the two, but it was much later that either would acknowledge the other as friends, let alone a potential soulmate. It started, both would recall, when Jim and Slade agreed to take in some orphans from other cities. The children who were already in the Blüdhaven Orphanage, had already divided up their rooms and supplies for the oncoming children. Letitia was technically in charge, but her task was to make sure the other children warmed up to the odd adults that had become their caretakes and family.

“Lot of kids,” Cass stated.

“Yeah,” Jason scanned the group. “Makes you wonder how many were already orphaned and how many lost their parents.”

Before Cass could say anything else, Jason’s gaze landed on one kid in particular, and he sucked in a breath. Jason vaulted himself from his perch, made his way through the group of startled children, and pulled Billy Batson into his arms. Then he reached for Billy’s siblings, pulling them all close in a tight hug.

Dang it. Victor and Rosa Vasquez were Saints among men. They didn’t deserve this fate. Nor did Billy deserve to lose the best parents a person could ask for. Billy had been a boy when he joined the Justice League. A child on the streets when Jason was Robin. When Jason led the kids into the orphanage, he shared a nod with Letitia and she went back to her job as Jason guided the Marvel’s to the back room saved for the heroes and Suicide Squad.

“Cass, can you and Rose take Mary and Darla?” Jason asked his sister as she joined his side. “I’ll take the boys with me and Jim. Freddy can have my bed.”

Cass nodded, ducking into her room to talk with Rose as Jim came to greet them.

Rose watched slightly stunned as Jason navigated the children and got each of them situated. He talked to each of them individually, let them cry, got them the first hot meal they had in days, and urged them to sleep.

“Captain Marvel,” Jason explained. “Some people call him Shazam.”

“No,” Rose shook her head. “There is no way-”

“Contrary to popular belief, Captain Marvel has magic. He’s trained with John Constantine, but in order to better fit in with today’s world, the original Wizard gave Billy powers like Superman’s. He later gave his power to his family, the kids you see here. They, uh…lost their foster parents.”

Rose glanced into the rooms where the children were sleeping. Billy and Mary Batson were twins. Freddy Freeman, Darla Dudley, Eugene Choi, and Pedro Peña were their siblings.

“He’s just a kid.”

“Weren’t we all?”

Rose had nothing to say to that.

\----------------------------------

But what really sealed the potential relationship for the two happened a few months later. After the death of Tim Drake.

“Kid?” Slade grabbed Jason’s arm. “What’s going on?”

“The second wave happened,” Jim spoke for Jason as Letitia barreled into Jason’s arms. “We need to get these kids on those buses. We’re going to Gotham.”

“Jason?” Rose whispered, cupping his face. “What happened?”

Jason began to tremble. “Go comfort Cass. Please.”

“Everyone grab your belongings! Pack light!” Jim started ordering the kids. “Then load up the buses! I want three Squad members per bus with those kids! Jason! You’re in the batmobile!”

“Yes, sir,” Jason nodded.

“Rose, Cass! I want you with Jason. Billy! You and your family need to divide yourselves between the buses! We’re going to need help!”

No one argued. Once the group was certain that everyone was free and loaded onto the buses, Jason drove the batmobile out of there. He listened to the radio, waiting for any news on Damian. Cass was passed out in the back seat, having cried herself to sleep. Rose, however, was still reeling.

Another Bat had died.

“He was my best friend,” Jason whispered.

They didn’t have much time to dwell on the matter. What started as simply transporting the kids involved collecting stray people along the way to get them to the safety of Poison Ivy’s Jungle. They nearly lost an entire bus of people had Enchantress not sacrificed herself to save them. Waller died then too. The Marvel family ended up saving lives, using their magic to transform and carry the buses to the Jungle.

At the funeral for Tim, and the others who had fallen, Jason attempted to detach. Rose wasn’t going to let him.

“If you go out there, you’ll die.”

Jason raised his head, looking half-drunk on exhaustion. “I know. I don’t need to see the future to know that.”

“Then don’t go.”

Jason’s body shook. A full body shiver. Rose took that as an invitation to grab his arm.

“What if I want to go? I could be with Tim. And B.”

“And leave Cass behind? Dick? Damian?”

Jason cursed under his breath. “Don’t you dare.”

“I can see the future, Jason. If you go out there, it will destroy them.”

“Stop.”

“What about those kids? Letitia? Billy? Mary? Madison? They love you. Would you really leave them like this?”

“Please, stop.”

“And Jim. You’re practically his son, now. Would you leave him to bare the loss of another child?”

“Rose, I can’t-”

“And what about me?”

Jason finally turned to look at her, tears falling down his face as he took her in. Rose swallowed as she looked into his eyes, teal swirled with green. They were more teal than green right now, though.

“Would you leave me too? Like everyone else in my life?”

Jason fell to his knees, face buried in Rose’s chest, and he wept. Rose let him, knowing Jason would not leave her now. She wasn’t sure why this filled her with such relief, but it did. She buried her own face in his hair, starting to curl now.

“Don’t leave us, Jason.”

And he never did. Not once.

\-------------------------------

**Present**

“Vandal Savage is a patient man,” Jason informed the group. “If he intended to attack, he would do so, but he’ll buy his time for now. Ra’s al Ghul, however, is not. I will not be risking my brothers or sisters by waiting.”

“Seconded,” Donna declared. “But I also fear the allies Darkseid made here on Earth. We will need to keep an eye on G. Gordon Godfrey. Desaad and Stepphenwolf could also be among us. Just because we managed to deter Darkseid here does not mean we have stopped him entirely. I think it in our best interest to act.”

“Seconded,” M’gann agreed.

“Then we’ve come to an agreement,” Conner nodded around the table. “Now we just need to decide who to send.”

“I thought that was obvious,” Emiko stated.

Yes. It was. Wasn’t it?

Jason grinned. He wasn’t Batman anymore, and that meant he wasn’t going to hold back. He had given Ra’s a chance once, and that wasn’t going to be a mistake he repeated. Not again. Nor would he let Darkseid take their planet or harm its people. If Darkseid thought he could win this fight, he had another thing coming.

Rose laced her hand with Jason’s and the two shared a glance. It was time. They had a future to save, and they were going to save it. Whatever the cost.

\----------------------------

It was late at night, and Jason found himself in his old safe house. Waiting. He knew better than expect her to come on time, but he felt like he was taking forever. He really just wanted to be in bed, surrounded by his family. But nope. He had to be here.

“I apologize,” she opened the door and stepped inside. “I was preoccupied.”

“Aren’t you always, though?”

She snorted. With a shake of her umbrella she moved to pull Jason into a hug, one he returned.

“It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise,” she hummed back. “Though I am sorry.”

Jason chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t be. You are bound to your destiny just as I am mine. Deviating from our path has only ever brought pain. I’m just grateful you gave me the information you did.”

“I wish it could have been more, my little Jay.”

“I don’t blame you, Death. Never have.”

Death gave him a smile, calm and gentle. It was said, once, that you only ever met Death twice in your life. Once, when you are born, though very few ever remember. And again when you die. There are very few who ever get an exception to this rule. Orpheus, her nephew, was one such exception. The other was a man named Robert Gadling, who had befriended her brother Dream.

Jason Todd was the third, and not for the reason one would think.

“Will they be safe? While I’m gone?”

“As safe as they can be.”

Jason sucked in a shaky breath as Death pressed their foreheads together. It was a promise to him that she would not allow them to die. They would not pass through her gate while Jason was gone. She could not promise much after that, but she could promise this.

“Be strong, little Jay. The challenges to come will be trying.”

“I’ll try.”

That was all she could ask for.


	8. Photograph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Jason leaves, he needs his family to know why.
> 
> It means disclosing the truth of what happened to Dick.
> 
> He's not sure he's ready.

Lucy stiffened at Damian’s side as they all entered the Batcave. Jason had asked for a meeting among the Bats, and rather than address them, he had fiddled on the Batcomputer before pulling up one of Jimmy’s photos. Athanasia buried her face in her father’s chest, and Damian stumbled back. Stephanie looked sick, and Cass had buried her face in her hands, being held by Rose.

Silver St. Cloud stalked across the room and put a hand on Jason’s shoulder. A silent conversation passed between them and Silver once more traced an invisible scar that had once been on Jason’s face. A scar that was now visible in the photograph.

“I…think it’s only fair that you know why Cass, Rose, and I are leaving,” Jason swallowed, one hand clenching the armchair as he turned to face his family. “You’ll all want to be seated for this. It’s not a pleasant story.”

No one argued.

\----------------------------

**The Third Wave; The End**

“They’ve gone mad,” Billy Batson breathed at Jason’s side.

“Yes, and I don’t want you going mad with them,” Jason hauled the kid on his shoulder, casting a look of regret to the unconscious Nubia. “Now come on. Batman wants any kid unaffected to head to the bunker.”

“Why aren’t you affected?”

“Lazarus Pit. I’ve used the time with you kids in Blüdhaven to control my magically induced rage. Not that I’m not a naturally angry person, but you get the picture.”

“So you _do_ thin this was because of the anti-life equation.”

Jason said nothing as they approached their make-shift sanctuary. The wall of green lantern light parted as Jason brought Billy into safety. Darla was still out there, somewhere, but they had saved most of the Marvels. Still, Darla was not one to be affected, and Jason had faith in her skills to survive. They’d find her eventually.

“This is madness,” Koriand’r whispered as she accepted Billy from Jason. “Is there no way to stop it.”

“I can’t get through to them,” Lilith shook her head. “It’s as if there is a block on their minds. All they see is hatred, rage, protection. Like their emotions are being played on.”

Jason grimaced. The protection factor was in their favor as Cass, Steph, and Rose had all three been affected. They had continued to fight and kill at each other’s side, but Jason feared what would happen if something changed.

“Jay-Jay!”

Jason turned to Letitia, seeing the worry in her eyes.

“Dami and Attie aren’t back yet! They went their grandfather! I think something is wrong! Lucy went after them!”

_They went with Ra’s?_

“Stay here,” Jason told her. “I’ll find them, but stay here and help Milagro, okay. She’ll need care to keep up the barrier.”

Letitia nodded, racing back to Milagro, Carrie, and Nell as Jason once more left the barrier. Dick had been out searching the fallen bodies for survivors. He was crafty enough to avoid the fight, so there was no guarantee Dick was close by enough to reach Damian and Athanasia in time.

He barely acknowledged Slade as the assassin made himself known at Jason’s side. To the surprise of everyone, Slade had been unaffected by the bloodlust, and had helped to round up the children, keeping true to his name of Papa Slade.

“They were headed towards the plaza we passed earlier,” Slade informed Jason. “They’ll be in that vicinity.”

Jason nodded. Ra’s was going to hurt anymore of his family. Not now. Not ever.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

\---------------------------

It took three hours to find Ra’s and the kids. And what Jason and Slade found made Jason freeze in horror. He had heard tales…tales of Ra’s planning to take his soul and place it into that of his young heir. But seeing Ra’s actually preparing to _do_ it. And to his little brother.

“Ra’s!” Jason boomed down into the pit where both Damian and Athanasia lay unconscious, his younger brother halfway strapped into some sort of machine. “Back away from my siblings!”

Ra’s looked up to Jason unimpressed. “Without the detective alive, you have no ties to them. So I suggest you leave.”

Jason hadn’t felt such anger since he first learned Bruce had left him unavenged and replaced. The All-Blades summoned themselves with Jason’s knowledge, and he charged.

With Slade occupying and slaughtering Ra’s minions, the duel between Jason Todd and Ra’s al Ghul might have been one for the history books. They were evenly matched. Evenly classed. And it would have gone on for ages, just the two warriors clashing back and forth till exhaustion stopped them.

But just as Ra’s and Jason lunged for each other yet again, Dick Grayson landed in between them.

“Enough,” his older brother said, a bone wary sound passing his lips with the words. “That’s enough. There has been enough killing to last a life time.”

“Dick. Move.”

“I can’t do that Little Wing. I understand that Ra’s might have been an enemy in the past-”

_What?_

“-But these are trying times. We need all the help we can get, Little Wing. We need to-!”

**_“DICK!”_**

Ra’s grew tired of Grayson’s speech, and Jason watched in horror as his older brother slowly glanced down to the blade stinking out of his chest. The blade slid out slowly, a process that would prolong Dick’s death. Jason barely processed as his brother’s body fell to the floor.

People always talked about seeing red when they feel a blinding rage. But that wasn’t what Jason saw. No. In that moment, as Dick’s body hit the floor, Jason saw white. Two black eyes with a swirled tattoo under the right eye stared back.

_“Take it. And end it.”_

In that moment, Jason had no choice but to take and end the life of Ra’s al Ghul. For when Death calls, it is best to listen. Ra’s only had a moment to swipe his sword over Jason’s face before Jason plunged the weapon of Death into the man’s chest. Later, this same weapon would be plunged into the dead body of Vandal Savage, sealing his fate to die. Lucy, who had freed Damian and Athanasia during the fighting and was hiding with their unconscious form, bore witness to the death of Ra’s al Ghul. She would tell Jason later that it was as if he had become someone else entirely. Slade Wilson, who also bore witness to the death, who had dragged Dick Grayson’s dying body away from the battle, would claim he could never identify such a weapon that Jason had used. It was not a blade, nor was it a blast of power. It was unlike any weapon the man had ever seen before, and nothing like any form of power.

Both would simply describe the weapon as death.

Jason recalled none of this. Once Ra’s hit the floor, the weapon had vanished, and Jason fell to his knees. He used his remaining strength to crawl his way towards Dick and Slade, Dick immeditatly curling his fingers into Jason’s jacket.

“Take…care of…our family…”

“Dickie-” Jason chocked on a sob. “Save your strength. Please. You’ll be alright. We’ll get help.”

Slade didn’t have the heart to tell Jason that they wouldn’t reach help in time.

“Promise…me… L’ll w’ng.”

“I promise. I promise, okay,” Jason sobbed, uncaring of the tears falling down his face as he pulled of Dick’s cowl and ripped away his own domino mask. “But you’ll be okay. We’ll take care of them together. We will, Big Bird.”

Dick let out a laugh, chocking on blood in the process.

“The world…needs Batman…Jay…”

Jason seemed to short circuit.

“Please.”

“No,” Jason shook his head as his brother suddenly went limp. “No. No, Dickie. Please. No. No! NO! NO! DICKIE, NO! DICK! NO!”

Slade had to pull Jason away from the body, hold the boy to his chest in a firm embrace as he screamed and wailed for his brother, covered in his blood. It took three hours for Jason to calm down, and only because the fighting had gotten louder outside. With Lucy having dragged Damian and Athanasia over to them, Slade took the children as Jason steeled himself and took Dick’s body from the ground.

“Let him rest,” Jason spoke to the wind. “Let them rest together.”

And to the surprise of both Slade and Lucy, a woman appeared before them. Her skin was bleached white, and her black hair was a mess. She wore a pair of tattered black jeans and a black tank-top. Her eyes could have been described as black too, but if one looked to close, they would have seen they were like gates to another world. Beneath her right eye was a swirled tattoo, and she leaned against a black umbrella.

_“They are together and waiting for you, my little Jay. I will reunite you all when the time comes.”_

And Death meant it, for her brother, Destiny, had consulted her on the path that was to come soon. Very, very soon. Death would once more have to open her gate. And soon enough, a flood of people would be brought out. So be the wish of her father, Time. But she could not tell Jason that at the present.

Death watched as the three left, Lucy tucked into Jason’s side as they mourned the fall of another Batman, and another Bat. The scream of first Silver St. Cloud, then of Darla Dudley, ended this wave of the anti-life equation.

\-------------------------------

The room was stunned as they listened, and no one could bring themselves to speak once the tale was done. Even Rose, who had an idea of what took place, was left reeling by this tale.

Jason, however, just looked blank.

“Little Wing,” Dick chocked, launching himself into Jason’s chest. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

Jason wrapped his arms around Dick, but his expression never changed. Reliving the moment had caused Jason to retreat so far into himself it would be a few days before he came back out of himself. And when that happened, Jason, Rose and Cass were gone before anyone could talk with him.

Bruce was one more sat in front of the computer, staring at the picture Jimmy had managed to capture.

Jason was cradling Dick in his arms, what had to be Lucy buried into his side, only identifiable by the mop of messy orange hair because of how firmly she was pressed against Jason. Slade stood to left, just a few feet away, cradling Damian and Athanasia as the two children lay in what could have been mistaken as sleep. The cut over Jason’s left eye looked terrible, but that wasn’t what got Bruce’s attention.

Jimmy Olsen was a master photographer. And he had captured the pure agony Jason felt in just one photo. Jimmy was good at his job. Bruce wished he wasn’t.

“It’s different, hearing how I died.”

Bruce turned to Dick. His oldest had been silent since he entered the batcave.

“I knew how you died, how Babs died, and how Tim died, but it kind of bounced off me. But this…”

“I know,” Bruce acknowledged. “But your brother and sister are trying to make it right. And I have faith that they will.”

“Even if Jason has to kill Ra’s al Ghul?”

Bruce said nothing. He wasn’t…fond of the idea, no. But Bruce had met Death himself, a few times. She had been kind enough never to ask that burden of him, though he knew the power existed. He had felt it. That did not mean he was at all pleased she had given the burden to his son. A son that had already been through too much.

“So what now?”

Bruce looked to his oldest son.

“We get involved.”

Bruce would not let any of his children live through that nightmare again. Not if he could help it.

Somewhere over the Atlantic, Jason glanced over to his teammates. Their little team had been chosen because they were good. Not only individually, but as a team. Individually, they could win wars. Together, they could concur.

Koriand’r and Roy Harper were givens for this mission. They had seen the League of Assassins in action, had fought with Jason against the Untitled. They were his best friends, more so than Donna or Conner. But of course Donna and Conner were here too. The three of them had become the New Trinity of the Second Generation. They were the ones that the survivors looked up to, and they had formed a bond that might have even been stronger than the original trinity. Wally West II, M’gann M’orzz, and Kaldur’ahm were also on their team, the three having taken the role of their mentors and becoming close to their teammates. Cass, of course, was coming along. They ran the risk of running into Lady Shiva, and only Cass could truly match her. Rose and Slade were also givens. They were family, and family that survived the end of the world together stayed together. The only reason Steph stayed behind was because someone needed to help the non-survivor Bats wrangle the children.

They were an odd band of misfits, but they were a clever band of misfits. And they weren’t going to let anyone destroy this gift they were given.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. This is the end of this book, and while I do intend to write a second, it is still in the planning stage. There were also be a third. And a maybe a forth if I can get the second book to do what I want, but it's not going great so don't expect the sequel anytime soon. 
> 
> Still, I hope you like this! This was my version of DCeased, in a sense because my brain went a different path. 
> 
> And yes...Dick is getting to spend some quality time raising his daughter while Kori beats up assassins to cope with losing her boyfriend and then suddenly having him back.


End file.
